Me, Myself, and McKay
by everg8er23
Summary: When a unexpected double appears on Atlantis what is it going to take for the team to send him home? And how could his presence change the life of one Rodney McKay forever?
1. Oops

**Me, Myself, and McKay**

**Season: Set a short time after McKay and Mrs. Miller.**

**Summary: Rodney McKay never meant to bring him here. But now that it's too late, will his presence change Rodney's life forever? Contains: Jumper crashes, barf machines, and mutant polar bears!**

**A/N: Months ago I read a challenge that asked, "What if Sheppard had never joined the Air Force?" Well, this is where that thought took me. And no it's not an AU. Enjoy!**

**A/N 2: A million thanks to my awesome beta slyprentice without whom I could never have pulled this off.**

"No, no Abbot! I said point zero two, not point two, are you trying to kill all of us?" Rodney snapped at the newly arrived scientist.

Susan Abbot swung around, her trim body stiff with anger as she was scolded for the third time that day. "I'm sorry sir. I'll fix it right away." But her words fell into empty air as Rodney had already moved on to yell at the next hapless scientist that got in his way. It was nearly impossible not to get in McKay's way as the science lab was filled to busting with scientists, computers, wires, and other equipment, most which looked Ancient in origin.

"Do I have to remind you again people? This is quite possibly the most important breakthrough in quantum physics since the unmasking of particle-wave dynamics. I don't need a bunch of half-brained nitwits screwing this up for me… I mean, for the scientific community. I wasn't trying to suggest that I was the only person who would benefit from such a discovery, after all…"

"After all, you didn't do it alone." McKay spun on the spot and found himself facing John Sheppard.

"What are you doing here?" Rodney asked, irritation barely hidden in his voice. He didn't like being interrupted and he knew that the colonel wasn't interested in the science behind the test. "I'm not going to blow anything up."

"We'll see." Sheppard replied calmly.

Rodney glared at him, knowing there was the possibility that this could go explosively wrong. But he wasn't going to admit that to the man. He turned to a nearby team member with short cropped blonde hair. "Stevens, do you have that calculation, yet?"

The blonde looked at his team leader with calm resolve. He had been on Atlantis long enough to get used to Rodney's emotional outbursts. Not to mention he knew that Rodney was all bark and no bite. "I've just finished. I'm starting to think this might actually work."

"Of course it will work," The scientist admonished, snatching the papers Stevens was holding. Studying them intently for a moment, he nodded. "Excellent, just what I thought."

Sheppard, meanwhile, obviously bored with all the science jargon taking place around him walked over to his friend and asked, "Do you mind telling me again why this is so important?"

Rodney sighed exasperatedly, but answered nonetheless. "_This_," he gestured expansively, "could be the key to an unlimited source of energy."

"Ah." Sheppard sounded as if the world had suddenly made sense, though clearly it didn't. "But how does it work?"

"Essentially we are going to be drawing energy directly from subspace time."

"That sounds incredibly familiar." Sheppard pulled a face, knowing he had heard this somewhere else before.

"Well, that's because it's what we were doing when we accidentally damaged Rod's universe."

"Rodney…" Sheppard warned, having spotted an obvious flaw in this plan.

"Relax, I've found a way to protect alternate universes from the negative effects of exotic particle formation. That's the breakthrough. I'd explain but it'd be a waste of effort."

John, ignoring the obvious dig at his intelligence, asked quietly, "You're sure you got this figured out?"

"I'm one hundred percent positive." Sheppard stared at him in disbelief. "Okay, ninety-nine percent, but it's worth the risk."

"I don't know…. We always seem to fall into that one percent."

"Not this time." Rodney's voice was excited, his hair stuck up at odd angles, and his eyes were sparkling. He looked a bit like the mad scientist.

"Really?"

"Really. Listen I've put fail-safes into the device, if anything goes wrong, it'll turn off." Rodney could tell that Sheppard still didn't fully trust him, but he was confident. This was going to work.

"All right people, let's get this started. Abbot, are the parameters set?" She answered in the affirmative. "Good, Zelenka let's start slowly, turn it up to ten percent power," Rodney commanded as he stood hunched over a computer console staring intently at the tiny numbers scrolling past. "Good, good. Go up to twenty-five." An audible hum began to issue from the large device sitting in the center of room. Sheppard stood on Rodney's right, his body taunt, like a spring ready to be released.

"Up it to fifty," if possible Rodney's voice was even more excited.

Everyone in the room stood perfectly still, all eyes on the now humming and vibrating device. There was a moment when nothing was moving except the large machine and then a few large sparks spat from the device. Rodney saw John move as though about to grab the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. But the sparks stopped and, as if stabilizing, the device stopped vibrating and only the humming could be heard.

"Okay," Rodney breathed, exhaling the breath he had been holding. Sheppard was not the only one on edge. He continued, "That's a good sign; let's push her up to seventy-five…"

"Hold on, do you really think that's a good idea?" Sheppard interrupted. "Seems like you're pushing kind of hard."

"Yes, because if we never turn it on, we'll never know if it works." Rodney's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I'm just saying, wouldn't it be safer to leave it at fifty for awhile, and uh, wait?"

"How many doctorates do you have again?"

"Do I need to remind you what happened last time you just had to push all the buttons at once?" Sheppard's eyes narrowed at him.

Rodney recalled the incident quite clearly, thank you. How do you forget blowing up an entire solar system? But he remained stubbornly silent as if daring the Colonel to say it directly. Sheppard however wasn't going to play that game and simply glowered at Rodney, probably trying to intimidate him into being more patient. McKay, either oblivious to this tactic or simply ignoring it, turned back to Zelenka. "Up it to seventy-five. Let's see what this thing is capable of.

Zelenka thumbed a dial on the console in front of him and then…chaos. The machine burst into flames, smoke spewed from it's top, several people grabbed for extinguishers, Sheppard pulled at Rodney's arm bodily moving him away from the flames, and there was a small 'pop' that originated in a corner of the lab that was not noticed until quite a few minutes later.

XXXX

As the smoke cleared from the scene and the 'whoosh' of the fire extinguishers died away, Rodney was able to make out the confused scene taking place in the lab. Many people were shouting. It appeared as if a few had received burns. Rodney decided to feel guilty about that later. Right now what he wanted to know was, "what went wrong?" The question had been addressed to Zelenka but it was Abbot who responded.

"Preliminary data is showing that there was an unexpected variance in the wave emissions and it resulted in a short burst of excess electrical power." She broke into a coughing fit and Rodney noticed that her brown hair which had been tied carefully back before the explosion was now hanging limply around her face.

"Is there any clue as to what caused the variance?" He asked when she finally cleared her lungs.

"Right now, I have no idea." Her voice was weary but beyond that Rodney detected a hint of anger. He would have to deal with that later too.

Just then a medical team arrived with gurneys and med kits in tow. Dr. Jennifer Keller rushed over to a man sitting on the floor. The man's dark hair was matted with sweat and his face was incredibly filthy. It took Rodney a moment to realize that it was Sheppard. At once he knelt down beside his teammate. "Are you alright?" There was an edge of panic in his voice.

Sheppard got up slowly and carefully. Dr. Keller was already examining a burn that ran along the side of his right forearm. "I'm fine, Doc," he said even as he grimaced in pain as Keller touched his wound.

"I'll be the judge of that. Colonel Sheppard you need to come to the infirmary right away so I can clean and dress this burn."

Ignoring her, Sheppard rounded on McKay, "I told you this was a bad idea but you just…" Sheppard's eyes suddenly widened in surprise. "What the hell?"

Rodney saw Keller follow Sheppard's gaze and her face twisted into a look of utter confusion. Turning to see what they were both looking at, McKay's eyes traveled to a dark corner of the room. There, huddled on the floor, was none other than John Sheppard.

"Oh, no."

TBC


	2. Introductions

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy!**

* * *

An hour later Rodney found himself in the observation area that sat above the isolation room. In the center of the room, John Sheppard was lying on the bed, yet at the same time Colonel Sheppard was standing next to him. While the two Sheppards looked identical in certain areas there were remarkable differences which set the two apart. Most notably the other Sheppard had his long dark hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. He also sported a large bushy beard and glasses which could only be described as 'nerdy'. The standing Sheppard was scrutinizing the other's appearance as he subconsciously scratched at his newly bandaged forearm. Rodney could tell he was sizing him up, trying to determine if he were a threat. But the unconscious man on the bed looked about as a threatening as a pineapple at the moment.

Colonel Carter, along with Teyla and Ronon were present for the informal debriefing that Keller was giving in regards to the 'other' Sheppard.

"All tests indicate that he…" Keller indicated the man on the bed "is just as much John Sheppard as our own John is."

"No doubt," Rodney grumbled, "he is from an alternate reality." He was not looking forward to the reprimands that would be coming his way from short haired Sheppard or Colonel Carter.

"Why is he unconscious doctor?" Carter asked looking concerned.

"I haven't been able to figure that out. It's probably a side effect from transferring to this universe, but I'm afraid to give him a stimulant until I know the exact cause of his condition. I recommend that we wait for a few hours and see if he wakes up on his own. If he doesn't we'll need to consider other options."

Teyla was examining the other Sheppard closely, "Is he otherwise healthy?" Her eyes never left the form of the still man.

"I haven't found any evidence of trauma, but I'll know more once he's awake."

Colonel Carter smiled at Jennifer. "Thank you doctor, please keep me apprised to any changes in his status. McKay, I'd like a word." She was no longer smiling.

_Here it comes_, Rodney thought as he followed Carter somberly out of the room.

They were barely out the door before Sam said accusingly, "How did this happen?"

Rodney released a long breath, how had this happened? "I don't know, but I am certain that my machine had nothing to do with it."

"Are you forgetting Rod?"

Why was everyone bringing up his failures today? "This is completely different. This time there was no need for a bridge connecting realities. There is no conceivable way this," he paused, "man could have been brought here because of us."

"I'd think by now, Rodney, you would start dealing with the inconceivable."

"No, it's just not possible." He replied stubbornly. "For all we know the other Sheppard came here on his own. His timing could be purely coincidence."

Seeing Carter raise his eyebrows he remarked, "Hey, you're the one who brought up inconceivable."

"But the device you were using is virtually identical to the one that was responsible for Rod's appearance, you're sure that no bridge formed?"

"I told you, it's not possible. The device may have some of the same pieces but it's been reformatted so to speak. The hard drive is the same but the operating system is completely different. The modifications to stop exotic particle formation have changed the rules of physics, not thrown them out altogether." Carter nodded and Rodney watched as what he had said sunk in. Rodney had to admit that there were certain advantages of having Sam Carter as his boss. Besides the fact that she was hot, she actually understood what he was talking about when he launched into explanations about new experiments.

"Alright, for the time being I'll at least accept the possibility that it's not your fault, but I still want a full report on the matter."

That was to be expected, after all, on Atlantis you practically had to write a report about every bowel movement. Rodney chortled as he thought about the implications of such a rule.

"Something funny, McKay?"

"Nope, just hungry." He said as if hunger were the ultimate answer to everything.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Hmm, that was a good question. Surely this morning, but… he couldn't remember. "Oh god!" he exclaimed, "I have no idea. I think I feel dizzy. Do I look pale?" He asked in a panic-stricken voice. But before Sam had time to respond he was speeding off to the mess hall without so much as a wave.

XXXX

"Planning to eat away your sorrows McKay?" Ronon asked eyeing Rodney's overflowing food tray as he approached the table at which the rest of Ronon's team was already gathered.

Putting on his best 'why would you joke about something like this' face Rodney said, "For your information I haven't eaten in _at least_ the last twelve hours. My blood sugar could be dangerously low." He then unceremoniously stuffed a hunk of bread into his mouth, chewing with relish.

Ronon exchanged a look with John but they both wisely kept their mouths shut. Instead Ronon said, "So, another Sheppard?"

"Yeah and how about that hair?" The colonel's eyes shone with good natured amusement, "and that beard."

Teyla unsuccessfully stifled a laugh. "It is quite a change from your clean cut appearance, John."

"Yeah," Sheppard replied slowly. "But you know what I don't get, why was he wearing glasses? I have 20/20 vision, why wouldn't my alternate self?"

The question was clearly directed at Rodney who stopped his reenactment of the human eating machine long enough to respond. "Well, you know that there is potentially a different reality for each different choice we make in our lives, which is why there are a near infinite amount. There's been speculation that a different reality may exist for each way two genetic sequences could become intertwined during the whole cycle of life thing. So that means endless combinations of allele differences within the human body which then result in different phenotypic expressions for each gene the person carries. Maybe your double, just got an unlucky combo of your parent's genes."

Ronon simply shook his head, not understanding most of what McKay had said. He was more interested in – "How'd he get here?"

Sheppard glared pointedly in McKay's direction, but he was once again stuffing his face. By the time McKay looked up all three team members were watching him, "What? I don't know any more than you do."

Ronon snorted.

"You know what I mean." McKay said feigning exasperation. He was saved by further explanation when John's radio went off.

"Dr. Keller to Col. Sheppard."

Sheppard tapped his earpiece. "Here doc."

"He's awake".

"We're on our way." Sheppard replied as he stood to leave. Ronon and Teyla rose as well. McKay began to follow, doubled back to grab his sandwich, and then hurried to catch up.

XXXX

The team arrived at the observation deck of the isolation room to find the doctor and Colonel Carter already waiting for them. Rodney immediately moved towards the window and looked down at the man now sitting upright on the bed with his legs hanging limply over the side. He was surveying his surroundings with confusion but did not seem alarmed. "Have you talked to him yet?" Rodney asked.

"No, we thought it best to wait for Colonel Sheppard." Carter said.

"We figured he might take the news best if it came from a familiar face." Jennifer added. She motioned unnecessarily to the Colonel. "If you don't mind?" She walked towards the door.

"Not at all." Sheppard said in his usual offhand manner.

Rodney was just about to follow when Sam called him back. "Not this time, McKay. The doctor thinks we should limit the amount of people he is exposed to. We don't want to overwhelm him."

"Yes, right." Rodney turned back to the window and watched his CO as he entered the isolation room. Sheppard was staring intently at the man on the bed. He scratched the back of his head ruffling up his already spiky hair. Dr. Keller had pulled out her ever present penlight and was shining it in the man's eyes.

The man on the bed was tense. He was apparently so surprised by the arrival of his alternate self that he didn't even move when Keller shone the penlight in his left eye.

Jennifer began the conversation, "Colonel Sheppard, I'm Dr. Keller and I suppose you know who this is," she said looking back at the short haired man.

The man on the bed looked at his alternate self blankly and asked in a rather timid sort of voice. "What's going on? Who is this imposter?"

Keller looked taken aback, but the standing Sheppard replied, "I'm you."

At this, the man's expression changed from confused to terrified. "Where did you come from?"

"Sorry Colonel," Keller started, "but the question is; where did _you_ come from?"

"Why do you keep calling me colonel? Where's Dr. Beckett? Why am I being held in this room?" The man asked, his words rushing out in a torrent.

On the observation deck Rodney's stomach twisted uncomfortably. This Sheppard clearly was not aware he was in an alternate universe and in his universe Carson was still alive. In the isolation room the bearded Sheppard seemed to be having some sort of mild panic attack. Not that Rodney could blame him.

Dr. Keller was standing over him asking him to lie back and relax. The Sheppard Rodney knew was standing awkwardly to the side not knowing what to do. He stood swaying as if torn between trying to help his alternate self or to stay out of the way. It looked like action won out in the end as he strode over to the bed, laid his hand on the struggling man's shoulder and said, "We are going to explain everything. But first you need to calm down."

At this the struggling man stilled, but he still had more questions. "Where am I exactly?"

Without preamble the standing John replied, "You are in an isolation room in Atlantis. But this isn't the Atlantis you know. You are in an alternate universe."

At first McKay thought that the man was going to have another panic attack but then he broke out into laughter. He exchanged a bemused look with Sam and over his shoulder he heard Ronon say, "He must have been hit on the head on the way here."

As odd as it was to observe the other Sheppard laughing hysterically as Keller and Colonel Sheppard stood watching, Rodney felt a bit better. At least the man didn't look scared anymore.

"Dr. McKay to the science lab." Rodney jumped slightly as a voice sounded in his ear. He had been so absorbed in the events taking place below him, he had forgotten about the mess that was currently the main science lab. "I'll be right there Zelenka," he replied. Glancing one last time at the isolation room, the scientist swept out of the room.

XXXX

Walking back into the science lab, Rodney found a much different scene then had been there that morning. The billowing smoke had disappeared and so had most of the personnel. In fact the lab was only occupied by one Radek Zelenka.

"Where is everyone?" Rodney asked, not bothering with a greeting.

"Lunch," Zelenka replied with an innocent expression.

It was at that moment Rodney's stomach gave a very audible growl. "Of course, other people actually get to finish _their _meals." Rodney scowled and grabbed a power bar off one of the tables. "Have you found anything new?"

"Yes, there are some very interesting findings." Zelenka turned his laptop so they both could see the screen. "See here?"

"Whoa, that's different." Rodney's eyes traced the wave pattern on the laptop screen. There was a stupendous spike right before the data stream ended.

"It is quite incredible. We were not inputting anywhere near that amount of power into the reactor. That means…"

Both scientists turned to look at one another. Rodney couldn't hide his smile, "It works."

"And in the microseconds that the reactor was operating at that level we extracted ten times the power contained in one ZPM."

"Zelenka, I can't believe it actually worked."

"It exploded McKay." Radek made a small explosion sign with his hands, "Boom."

"Yeah well, we weren't expecting nearly that much power output." The maniacal glint had returned to Rodney's eyes, "Next time we'll be prepared to control the power use. We just need to make a few calibrations." Rodney said pulling the laptop towards him, pecking at the keys.

"Do you think it's a good idea to mess with this?"

"What?" McKay snarled at him. "Jealous you didn't come up with it?"

"Perhaps you forgot. We brought someone from an alternate reality here."

"How many times do I have to say it? Not. My. Fault." He punctuated each word with a violent gesture in midair.

"Fine," Zelenka said defeated, "but until we know how he got here, we should leave the reactor alone."

"I didn't say I was going to turn it on, did I, hm? I'm just going to make a few adjustments…" He trailed off, already deeply absorbed into the laptop.


	3. Prime, Not Prime

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming! Here's a beefy chapter to make up for it taking awhile. More coming.  
**

**Happy Halloween to all those who celebrate. Personally I just like the candy...**

"It turns out that he never joined the Air Force in his universe. He's a civilian mathematician. And you'll never guess what project he was working on before he ended up here – he was trying to prove the existence of alternate realities." Colonel Sheppard was talking animatedly to McKay as they walked down the hallway on their way to see their visitor. This would be the first time that Rodney would see him face to face since he had appeared in the science lab. The little information that Sheppard had learned about his alternate self was gleaned after Rodney had been called to the science lab.

"So what do you think of him?" Rodney asked his friend knowing from personal experience how disorienting it could be to have another one of you running around.

"He's a bit of a nerd, but he seems sincere. I really don't think he knows how he got here."

"Great." Rodney sighed, so much for his theory that the other man came here on purpose.

At this point they had reached the doors to the isolation bay. As Rodney entered the room he caught a brief glimpse of its stark interior before he was besieged by two arms, a scrawny body, and lots of hair. "Rodney!"

McKay staggered back slightly as the weight of the other Sheppard fell upon him. Awkwardly he realized that this Sheppard and his Rodney must be a lot closer than he was with his own Sheppard. Hoping the man would let go soon, Rodney gave the man's back an odd sort of half pat.

The bearded Sheppard at last mercifully let go and stood back looking slightly embarrassed about his behavior. "I'm sorry. I know I don't really know you. It's just that, well, where I come from you're dead."

"Excuse me?" Rodney asked in a squeak.

"Um," the bearded Sheppard looked unsure of himself. "Maybe I'll tell you about it later."

They both stood uncomfortably for a moment before Colonel Sheppard broke the tension. "So…" He rocked back on his feet searching for a word, "John, we'd like to know more about how you got here."

"Call me Shep. Everyone else does." Rodney looked at the colonel to see his reaction to this and saw that there was a look he couldn't quite classify but if he had to guess he would say he was trying to hold back a laugh. "I can't tell you much. The last thing I remember was working in my lab. I had just finished doing a theoretical calculation for wave variance versus particle density in subspace time and then poof I was here." He gestured to the room around him.

Rodney became very exuberant, "I was doing a similar calculation last night, or actually this morning. And I can tell you, it's not theoretical anymore."

"You've found a way to put it to practical use? You must be just as smart as the Rodney I knew." Shep said, the energy in his voice matching McKay's.

Sheppard, on the other hand, did not mirror the excitement of the other two men. "Right, while I'm glad that Rodney is a genius in every universe, I was hoping we could figure out a way to send Shep here home."

Rodney, a bit perturbed at being interrupted, said, "Yes, but in order to do that we have to figure out how he got here in the first place."

"Well McKay, since he wasn't the one screwing around with subspace, I'd say it's your fault. Your machine malfunctioned, blew up, and now we have him." He jabbed a finger in the direction of Shep.

"Hold on," Shep said, excitement still evident in his voice. "You were actually experimenting with subspace?"

"Yes, yes. I've figured out a way to draw power from subspace time."

"But that would be nearly-"

"Limitless power. Yes, I know. But our machine doesn't work properly, at least not yet." He glared at Sheppard when he made a huffing noise. "The thing is though; there is no way that the device could have brought you here. It doesn't create a bridge like the last time we tried-"

"You've done this before?" Shep asked eagerly.

"Yes, that time we created a bridge through subspace to another reality in order to avoid exotic particles in this reality. It didn't go quite according to plan though." Rodney grimaced remembering exactly how close they had all been to being wiped out of existence. Now that he thought about it, the number of time he had nearly died, it wasn't that surprising that an alternate self had actually bit the bullet.

"But how did you manage to overcome the particle-"

"Enough already." Sheppard interjected, fed up with all the techno babble. "If it wasn't you" he pointed to Rodney, "and it wasn't you" he pointed to Shep, "then how on Earth did you wind up here?"

"I have no idea." Rodney and Shep answered in unison.

XXXX

As he walked with Rodney and Shep to the commissary, John groaned inwardly. McKay and the intruder were engaged in fast paced conversation trading viewpoints on which type of radiation waves were the most dangerous and other topics which Sheppard classified as 'geeky'.

Sheppard was beginning to believe that it really wasn't McKay's fault that Shep had come here. His repeated insistences that the machine couldn't be responsible were becoming more and more difficult to ignore. Usually by this time McKay would have given in and admitted there was a slight possibility he was wrong… usually. Despite his initial thoughts that the man, Shep as he liked to be called, was being honest, Sheppard couldn't escape the nagging feeling that something bigger was going on. Whether hostile or not, Shep was hiding something. For all he knew Shep came here on purpose, but for what reason? Clearly it was not for a friendly visit, if it was, why play dumb?

"Thirteen nineteen."

"Prime! Come on Rodney you're going easy on me!"

Sheppard groaned, why did McKay like that game so much?

"Nine thousand one hundred and sixty-nine." He heard his counterpart say. Sheppard knew it was not prime before McKay answered.

"Would you believe Colonel Sheppard hates this game?"

"Really?" Shep looked at him with a questioning glance. "But it's so easy for me - I mean us."

Sheppard was really beginning to get irritated now and he said with more sharpness than he meant to, "I guess some of us don't like to show off as much as others."

Rodney, used to digs at his absence of modesty did not even bat an eye at the comment. Shep, however, looked slightly hurt.

"Oh good, meatloaf." Rodney said sarcastically upon entering the commissary.

Sheppard could only groan in agreement. He could place that smell of half-cooked leather anywhere.

"Judging by your tone, I guess it's as good in this reality as it is in my own." Shep smiled when Rodney answered in the affirmative. "I guess some things are just meant to be."

As they stood in line for their food, Sheppard was subjected to even more geek talk, now it was something about magnets. He was relieved when he noticed Ronon and Teyla sitting in one corner of the mess hall. From the amount of food on their trays he knew they couldn't have been there long. He joined them as soon as he had received his serving of what the chefs passed off as meatloaf. Although meatloaf was a pretty sketchy food in the first place, he was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to taste like cardboard.

Teyla greeted him as he set his tray down across from her. "I see that Shep and Rodney are getting along."

"Oh yeah, they're like the geek Dream Team." He reached for the ketchup bottle. Experience had taught him that enough ketchup could drown out the taste of anything. He was squirting the condiment on his broccoli when Shep and Rodney joined them at the table. Shep was tailing Rodney looking distinctly self-conscious. John was again struck by the instinct not to trust him. The alternate set his tray down then he seemed to have suddenly realized that he didn't have a chair. Sheppard noticed that he went out of his way to borrow one from a vacant table even though there were a number of occupied tables with extra chairs closer by. When he was at last seated Teyla asked in a rather conversational way, "Have you always had long hair?"

Shep laughed observing Sheppard's unruly and comparatively short hair. "Yeah, since high school, I guess."

Meanwhile, John's thoughts were directed to the table next door. It was occupied by two very attractive women who were conversing in what sounded like German. They kept looking over at Shep and one of them even mimed the shape of a beard. Though Sheppard couldn't understand them, he figured he had a pretty good idea what they were discussing.

Trying to distract himself from the way the brunette's hair shone in the cafeteria lighting, he asked Shep, "What do you think of Atlantis?"

"I'm sorry?" Shep pushed a long strand of hair behind his ear blinking in confusion at him.

"I mean, how different is this reality from your own?"

"Well," he started slowly, "There's the differences you already know about. I'm not in the military. Dr. Weir is still our leader, Carson's alive…" His expression became grim. "Our Rodney is dead."

Teyla let out a small gasp of surprise while it seemed that Ronon had momentarily frozen, his fork full of meatloaf held in midair apparently forgotten.

McKay ignored his teammates and asked, "Yes, how exactly did that happen? Wraith, Replicator, or disease?" His voice was uneasy even as he ticked off likely causes of death on his fingers.

Shep sighed, "It was accident."

"Well I wouldn't die on purpose, would I?" McKay snapped. "Unless I, I mean he, he was suicidal, he wasn't suicidal was he?"

"He said it was an accident McKay." Ronon growled at the scientist.

"No." Shep said rather forcefully. "He didn't want to die."

"Good, I wouldn't want to think that my other self was…"

"Rodney." Sheppard cut him off midstream. "Why don't you let him tell us what happened."

Rodney's mouth shut but he leaned forward to silently urge Shep on.

"We were exploring the city and we came across an Ancient experiment which manipulated human DNA…

Rodney groaned, "Oh, I should have known, the Ancients are always leaving around death traps. This wouldn't happen to be the machine that morphs you into a super hero would it, because I really don't like that thing."

"McKay!" Sheppard again yelled at the man. He wondered if muzzles were considered cruel and unusual punishment.

"Wait, so you've come across this device already?" Shep asked.

"Yeah, it zapped me last year. It was really cool until I started to evolve past what my brain could handle and I nearly died. Thankfully I was struck by inspiration moments before I kicked it." His voice softened from bombastic to sympathetic. "So I take it my counterpart wasn't so lucky?"

Shep looked slightly taken aback, probably because of Rodney's rather causal statement that he had nearly died. But he answered his question regardless. "It happened differently in our reality. Rodney did develop certain powers, like telepathy and telekinesis. But he never evolved to the point where he was in physical danger."

At this Sheppard could tell that the Rodney in front of him was about to interject but silenced him with one of his patented death glares.

"A very important mission came up, one that couldn't wait. And in Rodney's current condition Dr. Weir decided he was more of an asset than a liability."

"What was so important that Elizabeth allowed him to travel off world in such a condition?" Teyla asked. Sheppard could tell she was just as interested by this story as he was himself.

"We had discovered a weapon capable of defending Atlantis from Wraith attacks. The problem was that it was located in a heavily guarded Ancient outpost right in the middle of Wraith territory. We would never have attempted to take it over… but with Rodney… he was so powerful at that point that we all decided that it was worth the risk." Shep swallowed, he looked paler than he had a few minutes ago. "So we went. Rodney was able to over power the guards at the gate. He just jammed their weapons."

He smiled weakly at the memory. "He had said that it was easier than prime-not prime. We didn't encounter any trouble until we were actually inside the base. Our objective was to take the power source, a couple ZPMs, and then destroy the weapon. We knew we would never be able to take complete control of the outpost, but we weren't going to let the Wraith have the weapon either." Shep stopped, his lips set into a grimace. He clearly didn't want to continue the narrative.

"But it wasn't as easy as you thought it'd be, was it?" Sheppard gently prodded.

"We were already inside when we noticed that there was a shield surrounding the power storage area. Colonel Lorne wanted to place the C4 and leave. But Rodney and I knew that it wouldn't work. If we were going to destroy the weapon, we'd have to lower that shield. There was only one way. Someone would have to place a charge inside the shielded area, after the initial blast." Shep paused again, letting his words sink in.

"But the amount to force needed to lower an Ancient shield…" Rodney trailed off. Sheppard didn't understand exactly what this meant, but knew it was bad, whatever it was.

Shep nodded at Rodney. "You understand. I don't know how he did it, but when we tried to dial back the planet the wormhole wouldn't engage." He was as pale as ever now and his voice was shaking. Suddenly he slammed both fists down on the table top making the trays vibrate. "God! I don't know why he did it! He could have come back with us… but he couldn't leave, not when he could do something… he sacrificed himself for the galaxy…"

Shep's words were left hanging in the air. And Sheppard saw that the man was on the verge of tears. He felt suddenly very awkward and looked away studying his barely touched meal. He heard Teyla offer consoling words. Ronon looked as though he didn't know what to do and Rodney for once was at a loss for words. By the time he looked up, Shep was positively sobbing and even as he pitied the man, Sheppard felt an unbidden surge of resentment towards his alternate self. As a colonel in the US Air Force he buried his feelings deep inside, he didn't expose them for everyone to see. He rarely cried and he certainly never did it in public, in front of his colleagues, in front of his _friends_.

When Shep was once more dry-eyed, McKay asked, "He used his power to drain the shield, didn't he?" At Shep's nod Rodney continued. "But how? I mean that would take a lot of energy."

"We never found out exactly how he did it. But I know that he must have been extremely weakened afterwards. He would have had just enough strength left to set the second explosive… I should have stayed; I could have gotten him out." Though Shep's voice was still choked with emotion, he said the last sentence with a great deal of determination.

Sheppard was mildly surprised to hear Rodney say, "No, you would have died too. He knew that it was the only way. There's no way he'd have done it otherwise."

"That's what everyone on Atlantis told me," said Shep, giving another weak smile.

Sheppard allowed the man a moment to grieve before he asked the question that he knew was his duty to ask. "Could you give us the address of that planet?"

As he'd expected Shep's red-rimmed eyes widened in shock. "You want to go there, even after…" He didn't finish the sentence, he didn't need to.

"Like you said, there are differences in our realities. How do we know it's in Wraith hands in our universe?"

Rodney countered, "How do we even know it exists here?"

"We don't, which is why we need to check it out."

TBC


	4. A Little Excursion

**A/N: Enjoy!**

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The next morning Rodney found himself walking down the hall of the barracks headed for the temporary quarters that had been granted to Shep. After meeting with him, Colonel Carter had agreed that Shep was no more of a security risk than the 'real' Colonel Sheppard and had acquiesced to letting him leave the isolation room. He had ironically been placed in the quarters that had housed Rod for the short time he had spent in this reality.

Rodney activated the door chime and entered the room when Shep called. Shep was sitting on the bed, holding a comic book that had no doubt been lent to him by Sheppard. The room was sparse and there lay only a single change of clothes over the chair in the corner. "So is the room okay?" He asked feeling the need to engage in pointless small talk before he entered upon the true reason of his visit.

"Yeah, the mattress is a bit too soft though." He patted the bed. "Makes me miss mine, it's a prescription."

Rodney smiled sympathetically, knowing how the man felt.

"But you didn't come to ask about my room." Apparently Shep was as keen to get to the point of things as his counterpart.

"No, I wanted to know more about how you arrived here." Seeing Shep open his mouth Rodney said quickly, "I know you've said that you don't know. I believe you. But I'm absolutely convinced that it had nothing to do with our end. That only leaves one option. Maybe you didn't recognize whatever it was. Did you encounter anything strange before your um…" He gestured helplessly, "departure?"

Shep was silent for a moment, but then a light seemed to go off in his head. He said slowly, "Well there was this device Major Bates' team found on P4Z-836."

Rodney groaned. It was _always_ a device. "Oh, so Major Bates is still on your Atlantis." He was met with a blank look. "Well he isn't here, but never mind. Let me guess, he brought it back to Atlantis to find out what it did." He didn't need Shep's nod to tell him he was right.

"But there was never any indication that the device was capable of this. It only gave off a base level reading, which is why Dr. Weir and myself thought that it was safe to bring back." Shep said defensively.

"It's too bad that I wasn't there because I would have told you that even machines with _no_ energy output are capable of reanimating. You could have done anything to set it off." Rodney snapped at him. But even as he said it, Rodney knew that it wasn't entirely true. How many times had he not been as cautious as the situation called for when he was excited about a potential new scientific discovery?

"I would have thought you would understand." Shep words were biting but he kept his tone level.

"We all make mistakes." Rodney said in what he hoped was a conciliatory tone, wanting to keep the conversation moving forward he asked, "Was this device the only possible explanation?"

Shep scratched his beard thoughtfully, "Yeah, that's it."

"Alright we're going to need all the information you gathered on the device. And we're going to need the address to that planet."

XXXX

"You really think that's a good idea, Rodney?" Sheppard asked the scientist, his voice dripping in doubt. "I thought you said that this machine is capable of transporting people to alternate realities."

Rodney and Colonel Sheppard were standing in the control room while personnel bustled to and fro around them. Rodney knew they were in the way but was too busy having a staring match with Sheppard to care. "Yes, it _may_ have the _potential_. But it's either we study the device or Shep is stuck here."

"Fine, let him stay."

"What? You're telling me that if you were stuck in an alternate universe, you'd be okay if an alternate you wouldn't help you get back home?"

"Maybe if you didn't exist in that universe." Sheppard deadpanned.

Rodney just rolled his eyes. "Oh ho, you're angry you've got a nerdy counterpart so you take it out on me."

Sheppard lowered his voice, "It's my responsibility to protect the members of this base, if that means not taking into account other universes, so be it."

"If we take certain measures, I'm sure that we can avoid the same sort of incident that happened to Shep."

"I thought Shep said he didn't know what they did to set it off, how can we avoid it?"

"He remembered that when he was working on his subspace calculation Zelenka was running an EM pulse through the device. As long as we avoid any EM radiation, we should be fine."

Rodney could tell Sheppard still didn't like this plan, he was still glaring. Finally he jabbed a finger at Rodney, "You're sure?"

"Positive." He was determined to make this work.

Sheppard narrowed his eyes at him as if trying to catch him in a lie. He must have been satisfied however, because he said, "I'll talk to Colonel Carter and we'll go." Rodney felt triumphant. "But only if she says yes."

"Yes, yes." He said dismissively as he waved a hand over his shoulder, already off to tell Shep the good news.

XXXX

"Aren't you ready yet?" Rodney said to Shep, exasperation clear in his voice. Everyone else had already suited up and was waiting in the Jumper. Shep, however, seemed to be having a hard time with his tac vest, which he was trying to put on inside out.

"Sorry, I don't do this much." Shep answered as he finally managed to get his vest on properly and he grabbed a 9 mm.

Rodney looked at him speculatively. "I thought you went to the planet to retrieve the Ancient weapon?"

"Yeah, but that was a special case. Only the third time I've been off world."

"Really?" Rodney asked surprised. He found the idea of a universe in which John Sheppard didn't go through the gate, a bit disconcerting. Then something hit him. "Oh, that's why you said Colonel Lorne. He's the military commander on your Atlantis."

"Yeah, who is it here?" asked Shep.

"You." Rodney thought that for such a brilliant mathematician, Shep was a bit thick at times.

Shep, ready at last followed McKay out of the gear room. But before they had reached the Jumper bay, Rodney swung around, "Maybe you shouldn't tell Sheppard that you don't usually go off-world." Rodney tried to convey his meaning through his facial expression. He knew Sheppard wouldn't like the idea of a novice going with them. And it was only with his insistence that Sheppard had agreed to bring Shep along in the first place. But this was only recon, what could go wrong?

When they reached Jumper 4, everyone was already seated. Sheppard was in the pilot's seat as usual, his hands gripping the controls. Ronon was slumped in the chair next to him, while Teyla sat serenely behind Ronon, her hands folded in her lap. Sheppard made an impatient noise when Rodney sat down behind him, leaving Shep to sit in the back alone. Teyla apparently found this quite rude of Rodney and glowered at him until he got up and sat in the back with Shep, who immediately struck up a conversation about Puddle Jumpers.

"So why do you call these Jumpers?"

Rodney found himself again taken back, because it was in fact Sheppard who had christened the ships. He thought to himself that he really ought to get used to the idea of people from alternate realities considering they encountered them so often. "Actually we call them Puddle Jumpers, because they 'jump' from one gate to the next."

"Of course, and the wormholes look like giant vertical puddles." Shep smiled, "Clever."

Rodney just remained silent, he personally preferred 'Gate Ship'.

After they had passed through the gate, Rodney asked Shep about his ability to fly the Jumpers.

Shep answered exuberantly, "It's one of the things I'm really good at actually. Since I have one of the most expressive genes on my Atlantis I am often running between Atlantis and the mainland."

Teyla turned around when she heard this. "The Athosians have remained on Atlantia in your reality?"

"Yeah. In fact your counterpart is very much in love with one young man. I think his name is Kanaan."

Rodney noticed that Teyla reddened when Shep said the name, but he didn't have time to question her as Sheppard called from the front, "Hey, I'm not getting any readings up here."

Rodney stood to investigate and walked up between Ronon and Sheppard. "What do you mean no readings?" He scanned the landscape that was now visible in front of him. A clear blue sky stretched above masses of trees. The forest grew so closely together that it was not even possible to see the ground.

"I mean that there aren't any readings, McKay. No life forms, no energy signatures, no nothing."

Shep, who had come forward as well, said, "That can't be right. In my reality Major Bates said that the village was located close to the gate. You should be picking up something."

"Well, I'm not." Sheppard replied in the 'you're-a-moron' voice that he adopted whenever McKay failed to accept the obvious.

"Maybe they are just farther away from the gate in this reality."

Sheppard turned to look at him, "Or maybe they aren't here."

Rodney sighed; they'd had this conversation before. "We're here now. We may as well look."

"Fine, I'll do a perimeter sweep around the gate, if we don't find anything we're going back." Sheppard acquiesced, turning back to the controls.

XXXX

An hour and a half later, they had still found no trace of any type of settlement, not even a sign of human presence. Sheppard was starting to think that this was a waste of time. Scratch that he had thought it was a waste of time an hour ago. He didn't know why he was still out here, flying in a gigantic circle. It probably had something to do with what McKay had asked him back in the control room. He wouldn't be okay if he was stuck in an alternate reality and therefore he sympathized with Shep, at least on some level.

A lightning flash in the distance pulled him out of his musings. McKay was back up front in an instant.

"What was that?"

"Lightning." Sheppard answered.

"I know that." McKay spat at him. "I mean should you be flying in it?"

"It was a long way away, there's nothing to -" But before he could say 'worry about' there was another flash which hit a tree ten meters in front of the Jumper.

"You were saying?" The scientist asked, but Sheppard was too busy scanning the horizon to respond.

"We need to land. Help me look for a clearing." A second later another tree was felled with a tremendous crack.

"Wouldn't it be better to go back to the gate?" McKay asked.

"The gate is too far. And I don't like the look of that sky. We should set down now and wait it out." What had once been a clear day had transformed into a veritable hurricane.

"We passed an open area a couple minutes ago," said Ronon who was leaning forward in his seat, his hands planted firmly on the dash board.

"Is that snow?" Though he couldn't see her, John knew that Teyla too was leaning forward, ready to spring into action. Sure enough, thick flakes were hurtling down onto the tree festooned ground below.

"Nice weather we're having." Shep remarked dryly. He too had joined the rest in the front compartment.

As he swung the Jumper around, Sheppard yelled, "Sit down! I think it's going to get bumpy." And thankfully, neither Shep nor Rodney protested.

"It should be on the left," Ronon said. Sheppard was glad for the Satedan's observational skills. Though he had seen the clearing in the fly over, he was not sure he could have pinpointed its exact location in the snow which was falling in near blizzard-like quantities. In the back, John thought he heard Rodney say something about Ancient ships which couldn't take a little water. As the Jumper was buffeted hard by the wind, that the inertial dampeners barely canceled the blow, Sheppard was inclined to agree. Finally, Ronon pointed to a circle of white on the ground, but Sheppard had already seen it. The clearing was barely large enough to fit the Jumper, but it would have to do.

Fifty meters from the clearing the Jumper stopped responding to the controls. The last thing Sheppard knew was a searing pain in his forehead before the world went black.

TBC


	5. Hello Beastie

Thump.

Someone was using his head as an anvil.

Thump.

There were fingers pressing at his neck. And a voice was calling his name. Why were they whispering?

"There is a heartbeat."

Thump.

"John. John, can you hear me?" There was something pressing into his ribs. He didn't want to move. "Can you open your eyes?" He didn't even want to open his eyes. There was something sticky running down the side of his face.

"Awrgh." He gazed blearily up at the source of the voice. It was blurry. "Wha happened?" He blinked, things focused a little more.

"Thank the ancestors. John, we crashed."

"Is anyone hurt?" He immediately jerked upright in the seat, ignoring his throbbing head. Shep and Ronon were sitting behind him. McKay was standing, he already had a tablet hooked up to the Jumper's control systems. They all looked a bit knocked around, but not seriously injured.

"We are all fine." Teyla reassured him. There was a bruise on her cheek and her hair was rather ragged, but she too appeared relatively unscathed. "We have a bigger problem, however."

Sheppard turned to the windshield. He couldn't see anything but white. "How long was I out?" he asked alarmed. It must have been awhile considering the snow build up.

"Perhaps, five minutes."

McKay, reading his mind, still jabbing at his tablet said, "I think we hit some sort of embankment. Hence all the snow."

Sheppard opened his mouth, but McKay cut him off. "I think we got hit by lightning. There are definite signs of a power overload. The circuits are fried." He gave Sheppard a knowing look. "Therefore, not your fault." He resumed his jabbing.

Shep stood, and looked over Rodney's shoulder. "Is there any sign of a power-"

McKay cut him off, "No. No evidence."

"That's a really-"

"Good sign." Rodney said.

"I hate to say this, but I think we're going to have to go-"

"Outside." McKay finished for him. Even in the midst of the crisis, Sheppard wondered why Shep wasn't irritated that McKay kept cutting him off. But Shep just nodded his agreement.

"Is that a good idea? It's snowing pretty hard."

"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious." McKay berated Ronon. "But we have no other way to find out what's going on. Since the Jumper is cooked" he threw the tablet onto the bench, "We won't even know when it stops snowing."

Sheppard, however, much as he disliked the idea of going out into a snowstorm, knew the scientist was right. He was after all almost always right. "Alright, everyone go up front and close the door." He ordered, knowing that he could at least keep the others' freezing to a minimum if they were closed into the upper portion of the craft. Only Shep and Rodney moved. Sheppard caught the latter's arm. "Not you, you're coming with me."

"You said everyone." Rodney protested, pulling his arm free.

"Everyone, _except_ for you." Sheppard's head took this time to give another nasty throb.

"John, I do not think that you should be the one to go. You are injured." Teyla said, laying a hand on Sheppard's wrist.

"I'll go." Ronon said gruffly.

"No I'll be fine. You guys go on up. _We_" Sheppard emphasized the word by again grabbing McKay's arm, "are going to go check things out."

Teyla and Ronon exchanged a look, but filed into the front compartment after Shep. The door slid closed as soon as they were inside, but not before Sheppard caught a glimpse of Teyla's 'sometimes I think you're insane' look.

Sheppard, wanting to get this outing over with as soon as possible, turned to hit the hatch control. "Wait, wait." He heard McKay shout at him. The Canadian was rifling through one of the storage compartments that were under the back benches. He pulled out two wads of material and threw one at Sheppard. It was a thick jacket. "Major Lorne decided these should be standard issue after that incident with the Comenz. You know the nudist camp up in the mountains."

Zipping up his jacket, Sheppard laughed. He remembered the time vividly, Lorne and his team coming through the gate in nothing but their socks. Lorne hadn't been able to live that one down for months. "He told me people are still stealing his shorts… You ready?"

McKay merely nodded; he was clearly stealing himself for the temperature change. John tucked his chin down into this coat collar and palmed the switch. As the hatch lowered snow came falling onto the Jumper floor. The freezing air hit his body as if he had plunged into ice water. Over the howling wind, he had to yell make himself heard. "Still snowing!"

McKay made a 'hmph' noise, but nevertheless followed his team leader out into the storm.

"Let's get this over with quickly." Sheppard yelled to him. There was nearly a half a foot of snow already coating the ground and it was snowing so thickly Sheppard could barely see Rodney, though he was only a couple feet from him.

He pointed McKay to the left, while he went right. He tried to get a bearing on his surroundings, but all he could see was blurry whiteness in every direction. Except… he looked again. There was a gray smudge just beyond his field of vision. It wasn't moving so he classified it as 'non-threatening' and trudged around the corner of the Jumper. Sheppard saw that the starboard drive pod was half deployed. There was snow clumping around it where it was separated from the ship. The hull, however, looked undamaged. He moved to the front of the ship where he saw for the first time what they had run into. The nose of the Jumper was buried underneath a sloping mound of whiteness. Climbing towards the top, John began moving the snow. His hands were numbing with every swipe. At last he was rewarded when his knuckles grazed smooth glass. He rubbed with the side of his hand to make a small circle. Ronon and Teyla were gazing up at him. He gave them a thumbs up and then moved back to the rear of the craft.

Rodney was bent over the port drive pod, which was also sticking out from the body of the Jumper. "What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know yet." McKay's screwed up his eyes. "I'm getting anomalous readings in this area." He began walking away from the Jumper, towards the center of the clearing. "The energy spikes are familiar, but I need to get back to Atlantis and run them through our computer. I know I've seen this type of energy reading somewhere before. Reminds me of -"

Sheppard held up his hand. "What?" McKay sounded annoyed, but there was also a note of panic in his voice.

"Shh!" Sheppard raised his P-90, staring into the distance. There it was again, he had definitely heard a growl. "C'mon," he whispered. He beckoned McKay to the hatch.

Yet before Rodney had a chance to move, a monstrous white figure came sprinting towards him. It raised a car tire sized paw and hit him across the back. Sheppard could only watch as Rodney fell in slow motion, crumpling forward onto the ground. He fired. The beast lost interest in the downed man and rose up on its trunk like hind legs. Its tusked head towered far about the Jumper's ceiling, nearly as tall as the trees behind it. Sheppard squeezed the trigger again causing the beast to howl in rage.

Behind Sheppard came a quite different sort of yell. Ronon was running towards them, his dreads whipping around in the wind. Red flashes issued from the gun in his hand and were accompanied by the sound of P-90 fire. Teyla was running towards them as well.

The gigantic snow monster went bounding back into the trees as Ronon and Teyla drew level with Sheppard. But Sheppard did not spare a moment to watch the beast's retreating flank. He sank down into the snow next to McKay. The scientist was lying on his stomach and his neck was bent oddly so that his head was tilted the opposite direction of his shoulders. There were red patches in the crisp whiteness around his middle.

Though his insides were doing a sort of maniacal dance, Sheppard began issuing orders. "Ronon, get him back to the Jumper."

The Satedan lifted the wounded scientist carefully and walked quickly towards the open hatch. Bringing his weapon back up, Sheppard walked backwards towards the ship, Teyla following his lead. Though they'd probably scared off the beast, he wasn't taking any chances.

As soon as they were all safely back inside the ship, Teyla slammed the hatch control. When it closed the Jumper became oppressively silent, the wind no longer drowning out the worry Sheppard was feeling.

Ronon was kneeling next the spread-eagle McKay. In the artificial lighting, Sheppard could see three gashes in the blood and snow soaked jacket. Shep, white-faced, was staring down at him, his lips pressed into a thin line. Teyla immediately set to work rolling up the torn fabric to inspect McKay's wounds. As she pulled back the bloody t-shirt, McKay let out a loud cry of pain. "Would you be careful!"

Sheppard exhaled the breath he was holding. Whenever Rodney was well enough to complain it was a good sign.

"We would come to a planet inhabited by the abominable snow monster." Rodney managed through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry." It was Shep who had spoken. Sheppard studied him, surprised to see his own familiar guilty expression gazing back at him. "If I hadn't come here, this wouldn't have happened."

"It's not your fault." Sheppard said reflexively. He had been leading the team so long that shouldering responsibility had become second nature.

"Rodney is not seriously injured. He will be fine." Teyla told Shep, laying her hand on his wrist in the same calming manner she had done to Sheppard earlier.

"That's easy for you to say!" McKay fumed, "You're not the one who was nearly ripped to shreds by a mutant polar bear."

"I thought it looked more like a gorilla," Sheppard quipped. "A really big" he gestured expansively with his hands, "big gorilla."

McKay rolled his eyes. But the next second Teyla had extricated the med kit from a storage compartment and was dabbing antiseptic on his wound, causing Rodney to curse savagely. Assured that Rodney would be alright, Sheppard focused on his alternate self. "Looks like you are going to be fixing the Jumper."

"I don't- This is really- I'm not-" Shep stammered.

Sheppard fixed him with the most intimidating glare he could muster. "Rodney's not really in shape to do it." He pointed towards where the beast had run off, "And we need to get out of here before that thing comes back."

Shep shrank back from him, muttering that he would do his best. Sheppard found himself once again, resenting his counterpart's weak exterior. He much preferred McKay's bombastic confidence. Trying to intimidate Rodney was like throwing pebbles at a Wraith cruiser, it was distressing to watch Shep wither under those same pebbles.


	6. Over and Over

**A/N: So sorry about the long delay. Looks like RL actually caught up with me. More coming soon.**

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**Twenty minutes and a lot of angry muttering later, and the repairs seemed to be going nowhere. John was playing tic-tac-toe with Ronon on the back of a half-finished mission report they had found in the Jumper. Meanwhile, Teyla sat quietly listening to the two scientists working. Rodney had joined Shep about five minutes ago. Though his back was probably extremely painful, despite the ibuprofen she had given him, he was managing to be just as blustery as usual. Shep, however, took it all in stride. As much as Colonel Sheppard intimidated him, Shep seemed completely immune to Rodney.

"We've got to reroute the power around these systems and form a coupling here -" Shep pointed to the tablet " - to bridge the used systems together."

"Yes, if we had any power to reroute, that'd be a great plan."

Suddenly there was a low growl. John and Ronon immediately jerked upright, both clutching their guns. Even Rodney had heard the sound and was peering over the top of the tablet at John. "Was that what I think it was?"

"This is so not good. McKay I need you to get us out of here!" Sheppard screamed at the scientist but Rodney had already started fiddling with Jumper controls.

A second growl vibrated through the air, this time much closer.

"Now!" John yelled. It was then that a roar split the air, so loud that Teyla felt as if the beast had been inches from her ear. She saw the colonel gripping the flight controls, and though she couldn't see his face, knew his eyes were closed in concentration trying to will the Jumper to power up.

More roars and growls were issuing from outside the Jumper. Teyla guessed there were three to four of the monstrous beasts surrounding them, as they huddled within a glorified tin can. Shep was standing nervously, swaying as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It was obvious that he didn't often take part in life or death situations. His face was devoid of color, his skin contrasting sharply with his long dark hair and beard.

Wham!

The Ancient ship rocked slightly as an invisible force rammed into its side. A second blow hit the roof, sending more vibrations into the frame.

"McKay!" John had abandoned his attempts to force the Jumper to take off and was now focusing on the scientist rapidly working with the tablet computer.

"I'm working on it!"

"Work faster or we're all going to get crushed!"

Rodney ripped his eyes from the exposed crystals hanging above the back benches, piercing John with a glare, "Stop interrupting me and I will work faster! I don't think we've got enough power to get the engines online, I'm working on weapons now."

The Jumper abruptly rocked sideways, causing the two standing scientists to lose their balance, Rodney falling unceremoniously on top of Shep.

"What the hell?"

"I believe they are trying to roll us over." Teyla yelled as she tried to help Rodney to his feet, only for the Jumper to jerk again, and cause her to stumble.

"How much of this can we take?" Ronon asked, speaking for the first time.

Shep responded, "The Jumpers are sturdy. It'll hold up." Teyla recognized the falsely positive note to his voice, so much like Colonel Sheppard.

"You didn't see the size of those things." Ronon didn't sound convinced.

Rodney and Shep finally managed to right themselves; just as another jolt sent the Jumper rocking.

Rodney was bent over a tablet, seated at this point to keep from falling over. His face was a mask of concentration. "Ah hah!" He exclaimed. "Try it now!"

Teyla recognized the sound of the weapon system powering. Then the unmistakable 'puw' as drone after drone was released. Time slowed as they all froze, waiting for the obligatory wail of pain. It came, followed closely by another. There were muffled sounds audible from outside, like a heavy object being dragged.

"You think they're gone?" Shep was staring at the side of the Jumper, as if trying to see through it.

"For now," the Colonel turned towards Rodney. "Which means you need to get us in the air."

"It's only because of my intellectual brilliance that I was able to give you weapons. How many miracles were you expecting today? Because I'm sorry, I've already met my quota for the week."

"You're saying you can't do it?" John challenged, probably hoping to goad McKay into once again achieving the 'impossible'.

"I'm saying it can't be done." As if to prove his point, Rodney sat down, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well lucky for us you aren't the only genius here."

The whole team swiveled to gaze at Shep, causing the man to take a step back as if trying to recede into the darkness.

"Well, what do you say?"

"Well… there might be a way. But it's extremely risky and there's almost no chance it'll work."

"Correction, no chance." Rodney interjected.

John ignored him. "What is it?"

"If we reroute all power, from every system, we just might have enough to get the Jumper off the ground."

"Right, and maybe if I wish real hard, a magic fairy will whisk us all back to Atlantis." Rodney commented sarcastically.

Shep added apologetically, "Like I said, it's a long shot. But I think it's worth a try."

"And if it doesn't work?" John was clearly considering the plan, but had his reservations. After all, Rodney was usually right about these things.

"We use up all our remaining juice or we overload the control crystal and explode." Rodney answered.

"Which means no weapons." John furrowed his brow, clearly ignoring the second scenario. From what Teyla could tell, they had two choices, try Shep's plan or wait for better weather and make for the gate on foot. Neither option was very attractive.

"I don't suppose you know when this will clear up." John gestured towards the windshield, where, through the plate sized hole he had scraped in the snow, white flakes could still be seen falling.

"Do I look like a weatherman?" Rodney asked irritated.

"Didn't think so." John said more to himself than anyone else. "Shep you've got your shot. And-" John shot Rodney his customary glare, "you're going to help him."

"You should know-" Shep began but his alternate self cut him off.

"I understand the risks. I want you to try." With that John returned to the Jumper controls.

Shep took up the discarded tablet, his jaw set. He hooked it back up to the crystals and began poking them with the corded stylus.

Rodney, as much as he might dislike the plan, stood next to him and pointed at something on the tablet. Shep grunted his assent and addressed whatever the issue was.

They continued to work in silence. Teyla had never witnessed Rodney quiet for such a long period of time when he was not asleep or unconscious. She wondered if his back was worse than she first suspected.

XXXX

"Okay, that should do it." Rodney announced. His voice held none of the usual exuberance of finishing a near impossible project, on the contrary he sounded depressed that they had accomplished their goal. "I have a hundred dollars that say we blow up before we make it off the ground."

"Why so pessimistic McKay, it's so unlike you." Sheppard smirked at him.

"I'm telling you-"

"Yeah, yeah we could blow up into a million pieces and be sent home in a box. When isn't that a possibility?"

At that Rodney clapped his mouth shut, but continued to glare moodily in Sheppard's direction.

Shep said carefully, "You can try it now."

"Don't make me say, I told…"

Sheppard drowned out Rodney's words by saying loudly, "Here goes nothing."

The lights in the Jumper flickered and then shut off enclosing the occupants in blackness, except for the small patch of light filtering through the hole in the snow on the Jumper's windshield, and even that was now half filled. Rodney gazed around at his team members who had an ethereal look in the dim light. They were all staring at him. He was about to tell them that he'd said it wouldn't work, when the engines gave a great shuddering noise and there was a familiar thrumming underneath his feet. The snow piled on top of the Jumper began to shift, sliding down back to the ground, flooding the cabin with light, which allowed Rodney to see that they had risen a few meters above the tree canopy. Ronon glanced back at Rodney as if to say, 'see it did work'. But just as Rodney was considering which choice words to throw at him, the Jumper let out a mechanical wail which grew in intensity as the ship climbed higher.

"Put it back down!" Rodney barked as he sprinted the short distance to the pilot's chair.

Sheppard, however, seemed to have already come to the same conclusion and McKay watched as the ship once more became level with the tree tops. Behind him there was a yelp of pain just before the Jumper dropped out of the sky for the second time that day.

Rodney was pitched to the floor, his shoulder colliding painfully with the co-pilot's chair on the way down. Cursing, he climbed back onto his feet, grateful at least that he hadn't wound up on his back. Just moving caused the claw marks to burn. He didn't want to think about how much it would hurt if he landed on top of them.

It took a moment for him to realize that no one was paying the slightest attention to his cursing and grunting. Everyone else in the Jumper was huddled around something on the floor in the back. As Rodney got closer he saw that that something was actually Shep curled into the fetal position. Teyla and Sheppard were kneeling next to him. Ronon stood close by doing a remarkable impression of a nervous horse, his head shaking back and forth and foot pawing the ground.

"What's wrong?" Rodney couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. The others still ignored him. Teyla was checking the man's pulse. She nodded at Sheppard causing Rodney's stomach to unclench slightly.

"Uhhh…" Shep let out a low moan and rolled over onto his back. He blinked wearily up at his audience, rubbing a hand over his chest. Rodney guessed that the panel which Shep had been standing next to had overloaded, giving him a shock, literally and figuratively.

"You okay?" Sheppard asked his look-a-like.

Shep sat up slowly, leaning his back against the benches. "Damn that hurt."

Taking that as a yes, Sheppard stood back up and looked about to yell at Rodney, decided better of it he stormed over to the hatch, hands shoved into his pockets. "I'm really starting to dislike this planet."

Ronon grunted his assent and Teyla nodded understandingly.

Sheppard apparently decided that yelling at Rodney was a good idea after all and said rather forcefully, "I need options, McKay!"

For a split second Rodney almost said, 'I told you so' just to piss Sheppard off more but bit back the temptation. For the first time since he had climbed off the floor Rodney took in the state of the Jumper. There was no longer any internal lighting. It was now only the mercifully unblocked windshield that was allowing them to see. "How far are we from the Stargate?"

"What difference does it make?" Ronon asked annoyance clear in his voice.

"It's the difference between us walking through a blizzard or getting rescued by a nice cozy Jumper. We are scheduled to check-in in two hours. When we don't, Atlantis will dial in to find out what happened. If we are in radio distance we can tell them to send help." He motioned to the ship's control panel. "The Jumper is dead, I can't fix this."

"Are we in radio distance?" Ronon asked Sheppard.

The colonel shook his head. "No, but we're only out of range by two clicks. We could get within range by the time Atlantis calls."

"And if the creatures return?" Teyla asked, pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen out of place in the most recent turn of events.

Sheppard gripped his P-90, "We'll have to take that chance."

"Maybe some of us should stay here." Shep added, not at all looking like he wanted to go traipsing through a foot of snow.

"We'll be better protected as a group." Sheppard reasoned.

"But shouldn't someone stay with the Jumper?" Shep protested.

Rodney scrutinized Sheppard's expression. As military leader of Atlantis, the colonel was used to his orders being followed, or at least it was usually only he, Rodney, who questioned him.

"No, we're all going." Sheppard replied in his 'I'm in charge here' voice.

Shep looked like he wanted to object but Rodney shook his head at him, knowing it wouldn't make any difference. He wondered why Shep was so keen not to leave. Surely it wasn't just walking in snow. He thought back to when they were being attacked by the snow beasts, the look of terror on Shep's face. Rodney then reminded himself that Shep didn't go off world much. He just wasn't used to imminent death. _Lucky him_, Rodney thought sourly.

"What was that?" Shep yelped pointing his borrowed Beretta at a clump of snow covered bushes.

"It's just another rabbit." Under different circumstances Sheppard would have been amused by his alternate self's lack of dignity. He was jumping at the slightest of noises, pointing the gun wherever there was a 'threat,' but as they were trudging through a little over a foot of snow on an alien planet inhabited by very real abominable snow beasts, Shep's incompetence was anything but funny.

John surveyed the rest of his team. Ronon was in the lead clearing a path through the thick underbrush, oblivious to the twigs and leaves that stuck in his hair as he pushed recklessly onwards. Teyla followed him, her lean body taut with tension and cold. Rodney and Shep were next. Rodney had his nose buried in the life signs detector. Sheppard wasn't convinced the Ancient device would be much use though.

It had stopped snowing and the wind had died down substantially since they had first ventured out of the downed Jumper. The change in weather had clearly coaxed the local wildlife from their warm dens to forage and explore. Since they had left the crash site, Sheppard had witnessed a range of animals from equines that resembled elks, large birds of prey, to the small rabbit type creatures that kept bounding across the team's path and startling Shep every time.

Despite the storm having died down - the first good luck they'd had on this god forsaken planet - the temperature was still well below freezing. Sheppard rubbed his arms, trying to stimulate blood flow through his numbing limbs. As there had been only four jackets in the Jumper, Ronon had agreed to go without. The cold didn't seem to be slowing him down. The rest of the team, however, was going more tentatively through the thick undergrowth.

John looked over his shoulder remembering the large pinnacle like rock formations that they had encountered upon leaving the Jumper. It had turned out that those gray smudges that he had seen were actually ancient ruins. Shep had shown mild interest in the writing covered rocks but Sheppard had ordered them to get moving. He didn't like the idea of standing around in the same clearing where McKay had been attacked by the snow monster. He couldn't help but wonder if the ruins had something to do with the alien society that had inhabited this planet in Shep's reality.

Sheppard checked his watch. The scheduled check-in time had passed three minutes ago. How long would Atlantis wait before they called to check what was wrong? He hoped not too long; as he wasn't fond of the idea of hoofing it all the way back to the gate, especially with those giant gorilla things running around.

No sooner than the thought had crossed his mind, a rather familiar growl echoed from behind the team. Sheppard spun, P-90 raised. Without looking he knew that his comrades also had their guns drawn. John signaled for them to drop down. He caught a glimpse of McKay yanking Shep into a crouching position before the growl sounded again.

Sheppard watched with bated breath as the trees in front of him rustled violently. With a great groan of displeasure from the pine at 11 o'clock there emerged a gargantuan white-haired beast. It was coming towards them on four legs, its tusks dripping saliva. Even as he opened fire Sheppard was forced to wonder why the creatures hadn't given up their prey. After all they had already been fired on twice today by the same group of people. You'd think they would find something to eat that didn't fight back. Maybe they were just incredibly stupid.

"What is _with_ these guys?" McKay shrieked over the roar of gun fire, his question echoing John's own thoughts. One thing was starting to become very clear: the bullets were not producing the same effect as they had the first time. Sheppard's heart raced as the beast lowered its head, charging at the team.

**TBC**


	7. Suspicions

"GO!"

No one wasted time taking off in the opposite direction from the rampaging beast. John spared a glance away from the creature to make sure Shep was keeping up with Teyla and McKay, who were in the lead. Ronon ran beside Sheppard, firing periodically over his shoulder.

Just as he turned back, something snapped under his foot and tangled around his ankle. "Umpf." He landed hard into the snow, wincing as the frozen liquid hit his face and neck. Immediately, a hand was pulling him up and he barely had time to shoot a grateful smile at Ronon before taking off at a run again, his P-90 still targeting the growling beast.

"Colonel Sheppard this is Atlantis. Please Respond."

Sheppard smacked at his radio, slapping his ear in his haste to respond. "Chuck! Send a Jumper. We are under attack from some sort of creature. Repeat, send back up immediately!"

"Understood, Colonel." The technician's voice sounding tiny and distant in his ear. "We're four and a half clicks north-east of the gate. Hurry!"

"Major Lorne is on his way," was the welcome response.

"John, there is a cave up here."

"Go ahead, Teyla!" Sheppard yelled. The beast was now only fifty meters behind them and closing. Following the rest of his team, he ducked into the dank cave just behind Ronon. The space was cramped as they all moved to the back of the small alcove, but still managed to put a few feet between themselves and the opening.

I really hate this planet, Sheppard thought, feeling that it was more than worth expressing twice. His side stung where he had fallen over the blackened tree roots and his head was still throbbing vaguely from the initial Jumper crash. It didn't help that there was a cacophony of noise issuing from outside the cave. The beast was in view through the outcrop but had not seemed to have noticed its quarry. It stood on its two thick legs, so that Sheppard could only see up to its knees as it paced back and forth roaring.

"How do you-"

Sheppard wheeled on his counterpart, slapping a hand over his mouth before he finished his sentence. He shook his head significantly before releasing the man. Shep's eyes widened at his mistake and remained quiet.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Lorne."

"Here." Sheppard responded, his voice a gruff whisper.

"We are a few minutes from your position. What's your status?"

"No one is seriously injured. We've holed up in a cave, but the snow beast is still in the vicinity."

"Snow beast?" Lorne's usually professional voice held a hint of curiosity.

"Later, Major."

"Right sir. Hang in there. Lorne out."

The time that it took the Jumper to get to their location dragged on forever. Each person stood with their backs to the cold, wet rock wall. All eyes forward, all weapons drawn, waiting for the moment the beast would notice them.

Abruptly a yellow streak shot out of the sky and hit the creature. Dropping back to its four legs, Sheppard could see the outpour of blood from its chest. Another streak and it fell over onto its side. It twitched violently for a moment before falling still.

"Nice shot." The Colonel told Lorne as he led the team out of the cave.

"Thank you sir. There isn't enough room to land here. We're going to have to go to a clearing we spotted just west of here."

"Copy that. We'll head over. Sheppard out."

"Great, more walking." McKay complained. As he took off from the group John noticed that there was blood soaking the back of his jacket. He knew that it must hurt like crazy and had to give Rodney credit for complaining as little as he had so far. Although, John had the feeling that as soon as they were back safe in Atlantis he would be hearing all about the abuse the scientist had been put through.

XXXX

Rodney grimaced dramatically as a nurse gently examined the claw marks across his back. He was lying on his right side on a narrow infirmary bed. He could see Sheppard sitting up in the bed next to him. And though he couldn't see him he knew Shep was being examined on the bed behind him by Dr. Keller. Ronon and Teyla, having already been cleared by the doctor and reassured that their teammates would be okay, had gone to get something to eat. Rodney wished vehemently that he had left with them as the nurse's fingers glided over his stinging wounds. To keep his mind off the pain he complained loudly, but not so loudly that the nurse became less gentle. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Behind him he heard Jennifer tell Shep that there was no lasting damage from the electrical jolt and that he was free to leave. Then the doctor made her way over to Sheppard.

"C'mon doc, I'm fine," John complained shying away when she tried to shine her penlight into his eyes.

"The damage to your ribs is minimal Colonel, however, your left pupil is reacting slower than I would like. You probably have a minor concussion." She answered in the forced patient tone she often adopted when speaking to Rodney.

"I've jumped out of planes with worse." Sheppard protested, trying to stand even as the much smaller Keller held him firmly in place.

"I'm sure you have, but since you're in my infirmary, I'm in charge and I want you to stay here overnight for observation."

"All right, fine," Sheppard resigned, slumping back against his pillows.

"Aren't you done yet?" Rodney snapped at his nurse as she gave him another sharp prod in the back. The nurse, Demer or Demon or whatever her name was, just made a clicking noise and continued her administrations.

"How's my loudest patient?" Jennifer walked over, blocking Rodney's view of Sheppard. She smiled down at Rodney indulgingly, reminding him forcibly of Carson.

"Great. I really enjoy being cut up into bite sized pieces," he moped sarcastically.

"Well you're going to be just fine." Why did everyone keep saying that? "Once you're bandaged up you are free to go." Keller smiled, and Rodney knew part of her happiness was due to the fact that he wouldn't be bugging her for too much longer.

He didn't bother to answer, but instead simply glared at her because he couldn't glare at the woman who was poking him. When the doctor had left Rodney once again had an unimpeded view of Sheppard who was staring at the ceiling. He wanted to ask what he was thinking, but the nurse interrupted him mid-thought.

"All finished doctor."

Rodney stood, picking up the clean shirt that was waiting for him on the table next to the bed. He walked over to his teammate. "Do you want anything? I could get some food or maybe a comic book?"

"Nah." Sheppard waved his hand dismissively, "I'll be fine."

"Alright. Well see you later then." He turned, mildly surprised to see Shep waiting for him. Without a word they both exited the room.

"The commissary is this way." Shep said pointing to a right hand corridor.

"We're going to Sheppard's quarters."

"I thought he said he didn't want anything."

"He always says that and then he complains about how bored he is whenever you go to visit. I'm going to avoid that little scenario this time." Rodney explained to a rather perplexed Shep.

"You know him well."

Rodney didn't bother to answer this. He'd never really thought that he knew Sheppard well, better than most maybe, but not well.

A few minutes later they were standing in front of Sheppard's quarters and Rodney was prying the door console apart.

"Is he going to like you breaking into his room?" Shep asked. He was standing nervously, checking to see if there was anyone coming as if afraid he was about to be caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"He'll get over it when he realizes just how bored he'd be without his Nintendo." Rodney was far more concerned with dealing with an under stimulated Colonel than a pissed off one.

"Ah hah." The door slid open. "You know, I don't know why we bother locking doors when they are this easy to open. But then again some of the grunts aren't too bright. Give them a P90 and they'll hit three men with one shot, but tell them to do a simple math equation and it's like you asked them the meaning of life."

While he was talking Rodney had entered the room and was searching around for anything that might keep the cooped up Sheppard occupied.

Shep called, "His iPod is over here," as he waved a small electronic device.

"Yeah, bring that." He grabbed a couple magazines off a stack on the nightstand and then rifled through a drawer intent on uncovering the PSP that he knew to be lurking somewhere nearby. He found it in the bottom drawer of the nightstand. "Madden NFL 06." He noted upon seeing a game lying beside the PSP. He picked it up and examined it. "What do you American's see in this sport?"

Shep shrugged in the sort of way that meant 'don't look at me', "I've always been more of a baseball fan."

Rodney took the game and one that had a weird looking hairless creature with big ears on the front. Somehow he knew that John would prefer those at the moment over the Gears of War game that was sticking out of the game player.

XXXX

"I told you not to bother," Sheppard remarked when Rodney and Shep presented themselves in front of the Colonel with magazines, iPod, and PSP. Whatever he said, Sheppard appreciated the gesture as he was already bored, and it had only been ten minutes since the doctor had left him to "heal in peace". He was so grateful, in truth, that he ignored the fact that Rodney had obviously broken into his room. He laid the offerings on the table next to his bed, "Thanks."

"No problem." McKay turned to leave the room, but Sheppard called him back, needing to discuss something with him and the sooner the better.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" He glanced pointedly at Shep. "Alone?"

McKay looked at Shep then back at Sheppard, but he didn't do anything. Shep fortunately took the hint. "I'll just join up with Ronon and Teyla in the commissary then. See you later."

The second Shep had left the room McKay rounded on Sheppard, clearly waiting to be told what was going on.

Sheppard assembled his thoughts, trying to find a way to phrase what he had to say in a way that wouldn't rile the scientist's feathers. Unfortunately this was almost impossible to do. "Rodney we've got to retrieve that Jumper."

"And you couldn't say that in front of Shep because…?" Sheppard sighed, he'd expected the outburst.

"Something weird happened when we crashed the second time."

"Well, we did _crash_." Rodney said in his usual smart-ass tone.

"I know that. But something-" he paused and looked up as if the word he was looking for was going to fall out of the ceiling, "weird" he ignored Rodney's strained expression, "was going on."

"What do you mean weird?"

Sheppard didn't know how to describe it. He knew the Jumpers; he understood them better than any other ship he'd flown. And even though he didn't know the physics behind every system like Rodney, he did know how the ship _felt_. "It just didn't feel right."

"You don't think that could have anything to do with the fact that we were trying to pump the Jumper for power, something it was never designed to do?"

Sheppard didn't answer, it was possible. But somehow he knew there was something bigger going on.

"And you think Shep had something to do with it?" Rodney had finally caught on. "Maybe you didn't notice but I was there too. I was the one who helped Shep pull off that insane, not to mention, failure, of a plan."

"I know." He hit his fist against the mattress, frustrated that he wasn't making his point clearly. "It's just that he had time to alter the system when you were still recovering from being attacked."

McKay winced, from pain or from the turn the conversation had taken Sheppard didn't know. "Shep is the one who got electrocuted when we crashed, remember? Seems a bit idiotic to zap himself, doesn't it?"

This had occurred to Sheppard, "Maybe he wasn't expecting the Jumper to short circuit. Besides, for or all we know he was faking it."

McKay raised his eyebrows.

An idea occurred to him, "Or maybe, he did it on purpose so we wouldn't suspect anything."

The eyebrows went higher.

"It's just a theory," he muttered. "Is it possible that you may have missed any modifications Shep made?"

The scientist opened his mouth as if about to proclaim that he was all-knowing and then his expression changed and he said, "It's possible." Then added defensively, "I was a little preoccupied trying to keep us alive."

"I know." John said again, trying to placate the scientist. "That's what I was afraid of."

"But, come on Sheppard, you don't really think Shep would try to kill us? I mean _that_ guy?"

Sheppard envisioned the long haired, bespectacled man who shared his face. "Maybe not, but that doesn't mean he wasn't up to something."

McKay collapsed in to a nearby chair in a show of sudden exhaustion. "So what do you plan to do about it?"

"We need to keep an eye on him. Make sure he isn't left alone in a position to do any damage." He spotted the mutinous look on McKay's face just in time. "And Rodney, he can't know we suspect anything."

TBC

* * *

**A/N**: I'm not getting a lot of response with this story. Which is okay, I'm just wondering if there is something I'm doing wrong. If you've gotten this far you must have some sort of opinion about it. So why not drop me a review and let me know? Thanks!


	8. Something Missing

**A/N: Thanks so much for the comments. I appreciate all types of feedback. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Good morning, John." Colonel Carter smiled at the dark haired man as he entered the briefing room and took his customary seat. "Dr. Keller finally released you?" She already knew the answer to this as Jennifer had sent her an update on Sheppard's condition that morning along with the information that she advised that he not go on any missions for the rest of the week. She asked him anyway though, giving him a chance to gripe.

"Yeah, she said I couldn't go off world for awhile though." His face was contorted into an expression that said very clearly he was not fond of the idea.

"I'm stuck here too." Rodney piped up from where he was perched on the edge of his seat between Ronon and Teyla. "Keller said my wounds are too severe to go off-world until they heal."

"You got scratched." John said. His frustration at their latest disastrous mission was showing through his normally composed demeanor.

Rodney looked scandalized, "Excuse me, I got attacked by a fifty foot polar bear!"

"It was _maybe_ fifteen feet tall."

"Right, when it was hunched over, when it was standing it was at least-"

"I'm sure both of you are suffering tremendously from your injuries." Sam cut off the irate scientist mid-sentence, effectively ending the discussion before it ended up in the sort of childish bickering of which Jack and Daniel would be proud. John had the sense to look slightly guilty, while Rodney just pouted from being interrupted.

"Colonel," Sam continued, "did anything of value arise from your trip to P4Z-836?"

Sheppard slipped a serious expression back onto his face. "Not unless you count proof of the existence of the abominable snow monster valuable. We found no evidence of any human habitation on the planet, nor were there any energy readings."

"Hold on. We did come across energy readings."

Sam swiveled in her chair to look at Rodney and waited for him to explain.

"I'd forgotten until now because it was right before that bear thing came at me. There was some sort of energy spike similar to the one we recorded right before the flux reactor malfunctioned."

'Malfunction' Sam understood to mean explode. "How could there be an energy spike of that magnitude on a deserted planet?"

Rodney started to lean back in his chair, thought better of it and crossed his arms. "I bet those ruins would tell us."

"What ruins?" How come this was the first time she was hearing about it? She'd spoken to Ronon briefly the day before and he had not mentioned them. Although, she hadn't asked specifically if there were any and you did have to be careful about how you phrased things when speaking to the ex-runner.

"They were present in the clearing where we crashed." Teyla informed her. The bruise on the Athosian's cheek had yellowed overnight, but it appeared just as painful as when Sam had seen it yesterday.

She addressed Rodney, "And you think these ruins could hold the key to finding out how Shep arrived here?"

He nodded, but Sam didn't miss the look Sheppard exchanged with Ronon. "Am I missing something here?"

"They think Shep is Sheppard's evil twin sent here by Satan to kill us all." Rodney responded with as much snark as he could muster.

"Quit being so over dramatic McKay. When we talked about this last night we _all _agreed that he should be watched." Sheppard's tone was biting and Sam didn't miss the use of Rodney's surname. "Even Teyla said we shouldn't trust him blindly."

"I merely meant that we should not be lulled into trusting him because he looks like John." Teyla responded quickly, as if wanting to stay out the argument.

Sam couldn't blame her, but she still didn't understand completely what was going on. She leaned forward with her elbows on the table, "Could we go back a minute? Why don't you trust Shep?"

"Sheppard's got a feeling."

"It's more than a feeling McKay." He looked a bit more than ticked off now, but he reigned in his emotions as he turned to her. "When the Jumper crashed the second time, after Shep had been messing with it, the controls- well there was something wrong."

"There could have been a mistake in the calculations." This caused everyone to stare at Rodney who was soon on the defensive. "Well Shep did most of them and it was a very high pressure situation. And I was in a lot of pain… people make mistakes." He said the last part so quietly Sam had to strain to catch the words.

Sam figured that was as close to an admission of fallibility that she would ever get from the scientist and decided not to push him. "I'm inclined to agree that we can't put our whole faith into Shep until we know more. Where is he now?"

"I put him with Zelenka. They're working on the reactor. That should keep him busy for awhile." Rodney answered civilly, but he was still wearing a fairly irate expression.

"Okay, I want someone with him at all times unless he is in his quarters. I'll tell security to keep an eye on him."

"I can do it." Ronon said, speaking at last.

"Thanks for the offer Ronon, but we want to keep this discreet in case he becomes hostile."

"Or he's innocent." Rodney was wearing his trademark look of defiance.

"Yes Rodney, or if he's proven innocent," she conceded. "I'll send a science team to retrieve the Jumper along with Lorne's team for backup, and then we can diagnose what really happened."

"What about the ruins?" The head of the science department was proving to be a pain in the ass today.

Sam rubbed her temples, she was developing a headache. "What about them?"

"We need to know what they say if Shep is ever going to get home."

"Fine, I'll send an archeological team to take a look. But they can only stay as long as it takes to get the Jumper in working order." She held up her hand, seeing Rodney about to protest. "That's the best I can do, I'm not risking anyone's lives for Shep's convenience." She pushed out her chair and stood; "Now if that's it I'm in need of some coffee."

"One more thing."

Sam slumped back down at the sound of Sheppard's voice. What now? They weren't the only team on Atlantis. No, she thought wryly, but they did cause the most problems.

"There is intel that Shep has disclosed from his reality regarding a super weapon of some kind that was developed by the Ancients."

Carter's irritation at the prolonged briefing was instantly erased. She liked the sound of 'super-weapon'.

The rest of the meeting was spent discussing whether or not the weapon existed and if it did what should be done about it. Everyone was in agreement that they should find out whether or not the weapon existed. What was to be done about it in such an event caused a much larger disagreement. The two military men wanted to use it, while Teyla and Rodney were much more hesitant. Sam could easily see their point of view, remembering the myriad of dangerous weapons she had encountered over the years as a part of SG-1 which usually wrought destruction on the races who built them. After much argument on both sides, and an increasingly painful headache, Carter pulled rank and told them that they could continue the discussion if and when the device was found.

XXXX

The control room was relatively crowded with both military and civilian personnel as the MALP was readied for its journey to M2X- something. Ronon didn't pay too much attention to the Earthling's incomprehensible designation system. He found it much more important to know that the planet which they were about to survey could hold the key to defeating the Wraith. Chuck had abandoned his normal post and was scurrying around the large machine a few meters in front of the gate. He was pointing exaggeratedly at the small mounted camera and yelling to another technician with blonde hair and a hooked nose.

"Make sure that is receiving a high resolution feed. Last time all we managed to get was a blue blur, that better not happen again!"

"Yes sir." The technician replied a bit too dutifully.

Tensions were running higher than normal considering this was only a preliminary planetary analysis. But, of course, this planet had the potential to be infinitely more significant than others.

McKay appeared at Ronon's elbow, Shep wavering just behind him. Ronon, who had just started to like Shep before the Jumper crash, regarded him warily. It was true he didn't understand exactly why Sheppard didn't trust his double, but the fact that the Colonel was suspicious was enough for Ronon. He lowered his voice so that only Rodney could hear him.

"Why'd you bring him along?"

"He's the reason we found out about the weapon in the first place. You tell him he can't be here." Rodney whispered harshly back.

Ronon considered this momentarily but was prevented from doing so by the ka-whoosh of the gate connecting.

"Oh goody, I'm just in time." The Satedan turned to see Sheppard standing with his arms crossed near the DHD. Though he appeared calm, Ronon knew he was nearly as keen to find this Wraith killing machine as he was.

He turned a back around to follow the MALP as it slowly approached the gate then disappeared through the event horizon.

"Receiving MALP telemetry in 3…2…1…"

The monitors in the control room flickered to life. A field of green stretched towards a clear blue sky, there was a clump of trees in the distance and- the monitor went blank.

"What happened?" McKay surged towards the nearest laptop, his fingers scrambling over the keys.

"We lost the feed." The hooked-nosed man answered.

"I can see that." Rodney spared a moment to glare at the man. "_Why_ did we lose the feed?"

"Maybe it's some type of interference." Colonel Carter was looking over Rodney's shoulder. "Are we receiving any type of transmission?"

"No, nothing."

"Try isolating the IRF bandwidth."

"It's no use. We're not getting anything." Shep replied from his own laptop.

Carter straightened and let out a sigh. "Alright shut it down."

"What?" Rodney protested loudly, his voice breaking. "There was no evidence of Wraith. Let us go through and determine what's causing the interference."

"It's too risky. There could be hostiles in the area just out of the MALP's sight range." She nodded to Sheppard who hit a button on the DHD and the flickering blue light was extinguished. "I'll have the Daedalus stop by the planet on their way back. They can do a proper survey from orbit."

"That'll take another week. If the Wraith don't know about the weapon they could by that time." He quickly amended, "That is if it exists at all."

Ronon could tell by Carter's stance that she wasn't about to give in. "If the Wraith haven't found this weapon in the past ten thousand years, I don't think another week is going to make a difference."

The scientist's jaw made an odd motion as if he were swallowing something unpleasant then recovering he said, "I know the Jumper came back alright but I didn't hear anything about the ruins."

"All the archeologists were able to say was that they did not recognize the language." Carter told him carefully.

"They were there for almost three hours and that's all they got?"

Rodney's incredulity was tempered slightly when Shep spoke. "It takes time to decode another language when there is no immediate reference point. Even when we discovered Ancient was related to Latin it still took us months to completely understand the language."

"You helped translate Ancient?" Sheppard asked, confused.

"You'd be surprised how much math there is hidden in linguistics." Shep looked a bit bashful.

"What have you found out about the Jumper?" Sam asked Rodney clearly wanting to change the topic as Sheppard was staring daggers at Shep.

"Once we were able to get it hooked up to an external power source we discovered there is no lasting damage to its systems. A crew is working on the structural damage. But as to what brought it down in the first place… I'm no longer sure it was lightning. I mean Jumpers have withstood worse than that. It probably had something to do with that power spike. And the thing is it isn't just similar to the one we registered with the flux reactor." Rodney donned his trademark smug expression. "It's _exactly_ the same. And you know what that means."

Ronon didn't and evidently neither did Sheppard who asked, "No, what does it mean?"

"It means that whatever, or whoever, crashed the Jumper was using power from subspace to do so."

"Whoever? I thought you said the planet was deserted?" Sam was eyeing McKay as if he'd lost his mind.

"Oh, I forgot the life sign detectors have never been wrong before." Rodney responded, causing Sheppard to roll his eyes.

Ronon couldn't mistake the look on Rodney's face, however. "Don't say it."

The scientist said it anyway. "We need to go back to that planet."

"That's out of the question. Not with those snow beasts, who not only attacked you once, but three times." Carter informed them all, though Rodney was the only one who looked like he wanted to return.

"Yes, I've been thinking about that. Why were those polar bear things so interested in us, I mean they didn't show so much as a hairy finger to the recovery team?" Rodney broke into a snapping fit. "Of course, someone didn't want us there and set their pet yetis on us."

John's eyebrow rose, "Or maybe they just learned not to mess with the Jumpers after what happened to their pal. And why wouldn't this 'someone' think the recovery team was a threat?"

Rodney stood firm. "Like you said, didn't want to mess with the Jumper. And in that case it should be safe for us to go back in Jumpers."

"Aren't you forgetting something McKay? The energy spike?" Sheppard was beginning to lose his temper and his voice had become gruff. "If there's someone on that planet they could have been the one who fried the Jumper."

Rodney, too, was getting angry and said in his best smarter-than-thou tone, "And they left other Puddle Jumpers alone because they really only enjoying bringing down ships in the mornings?"

Ronon shifted forward slightly without thinking, he was unconsciously ready for a fight even though he knew that the two men would never take their quarrel to a physical level. While he didn't know the exact cause for their animosity he had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with Shep, and was relived when Colonel Carter cut in over Sheppard's incensed retort.

"Stop it both of you. While I'm concerned at the possibility that there may be a malignant force on that planet, the argument is irrelevant. I won't allow travel to the site. That's the end of it." Her manner softened, "And I don't know what's gotten into the two of you but I'd appreciate it if you could work it out soon so I don't have to keep breaking up your verbal sparring matches."

"Yes ma'am." Sheppard replied while Rodney nodded. They'd didn't meet each other's eyes.

TBC

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter is a bit slow. Don't worry something will be blowing up soon...**


	9. What Hurts the Most

For the next couple days Rodney spent most of his time in the lab alternately working on the flux reactor, Jumper repairs, and going over the MALP telemetry. This meant that he saw very little of Sheppard, and quite a lot of his double. He was keeping in mind what Carter had said about someone being with Shep at all times and so was spending time with the man even when he wasn't working. Not that he minded, on the contrary, he got along better with Shep than he was with John at the moment. But, as he worked side by side with Shep in the lab, Rodney found himself wondering if Sheppard could possibly be right. What did they really know about Shep? He was from a different reality; he wasn't the John Sheppard he knew. And yet it had taken him less than a day before he'd convinced himself that they guy was alright. How'd he know Shep wasn't really from the evil twin universe? Alright, he didn't have a goatee, but still…

All these doubts had flooded Rodney's brain when John had disclosed his own suspicions about their guest in the infirmary, yet he'd managed to ignore them at first, tell himself that John was just being his usual cautious self. But then as he'd worked with Shep, spent almost every waking minute with him, he couldn't help but watch him for threatening behavior or check every ten minutes to make sure that Shep's calculations were really for his work and not some sinister plan to take over the city. Yesterday, he'd even convinced himself that Shep was pouring poison into his coffee until he noticed that they had simply changed the look of the sugar packets on base.

Yet, as he was deluged by these thoughts he still found himself inexplicably drawn to the slightly bushman looking Sheppard. It was true that he and Shep shared the ever uniting nerd bond, but even more than this Shep simply acted like someone you could trust. He was someone who would keep your secrets, do you favors, and wouldn't dream of poisoning your morning coffee. And so on the evening of the second day Rodney found himself and Shep on one of Atlantis' many balconies. Shep was leaning against the metal railing, playing with his glasses, a gesture Rodney had come to recognize as meaning that he was about to say something uncomfortable.

"I don't suppose you talk to your sister any more in this reality than you did in mine?"

McKay flinched at the use of the past tense, as he did every time Shep talked about 'his' Rodney, the painful thought driving the doubts from his mind momentarily. He was flinching not only for himself this time but also for his alternate's sister. "If you had asked me that last year, well… it had been awhile. But when we worked together last year we sort of, you know… clicked again. Now I try to send her a message every once in a while just to tell her I'm still alive. Which she appreciates…" he trailed off, feeling another pang trying to imagine what it had been like for alternate Jeannie when his counterpart had died and she hadn't heard from him in so long. Did she even miss him?

Shep seemed to be reading his thoughts, or maybe just the expression on his face. "I was the one who told her. You know it would usually be someone higher up, but Colonel Lorne thought that because we were such good friends that I…"

Rodney pulled his eyes from the overcast sky to meet watery brown ones and immediately wished he hadn't. He normally felt awkward seeing others cry but it was worse somehow when it was Sheppard, or sort of Sheppard. Shep did not appear embarrassed, however, and Rodney held his gaze. It suddenly occurred to him the reason for his trust in Shep. He was open. He didn't hide his feelings away, but shared them honestly. Someone who could cry in front of strangers as Shep had done in the commissary that first day, that person could be trusted.

"You're a good friend." Shep stated honestly and then turned to look out over the waves.

McKay knew somehow that the conversation was over. There was no need or expectation of consoling words or return of compliments. He tried to imagine what it would be like if all people were as at ease with their feelings as this alternate Sheppard was. He was met with an image of all the women of Atlantis professing their undying love for Ronon. Maybe it was a good thing people didn't always express themselves.

XXXX

"Give me that." Rodney had a headache, his back hurt from bending over the control consol of the Jumper, and there were too many people buzzing around him asking stupid questions. But most annoying of all was the gangly blond who was always standing too damn close. No matter where he was, the guy was always _right_ there. He wondered briefly if Carter would believe that the man had accidentally gotten knocked unconscious.

McKay stood, nearly walked into the blond, glowered at him, and moved to the Jumper's open hatch. From there he could tell Zelenka was still occupied with supervising the repair of the Jumper's hull and Shep was still tinkering with a device about the size and shape of a hard drive. As soon as the Jumper had been returned from the planet Rodney had assigned most of his science team to analyzing the effects of the energy spike that had downed the Jumper.

He'd also made it a priority that they come up with a way to defend themselves from such an event in the future. Shep had nearly immediately come up with the plans for the device he was now screwing a cover on top of. The idea was that the device would suck up any unwanted energy flowing into the Jumper's systems. It even had the potential to be useful for preventing overloads due to weapon's fire.

Rodney knew he would have come up with the same idea if he hadn't been so distracted recently, what with the slow progression of the translation of the ruins and the idea that the Daedalus would be in orbit around what they'd all come to call the weapon planet in two days time.

He joined Shep at the work table only to find that the blond followed him. He spun to glare at the man, took that opportunity to realize that the guy rivaled Ronon in height, and spun back to observe Shep working, the blond trailing closely behind.

"Looks like you're almost done." Rodney noted, peering over Shep's shoulder.

"Well…" the mathematician began slowly, "it should be ready for install in the morning."

Rodney nodded distractedly; he was already running a computation for the amount of power that the device would be able to divert from the Jumper's secondary system controls if need be.

"– in the next couple hours. What do you think?"

Rodney blinked realizing that the blond guy had been talking when he was not listening. "Yes, sounds good." He figured if he agreed then the blond would leave. The man was practically touching him at this point.

No such luck. The man was looking at Rodney expectantly. He wondered belatedly what he had just agreed to. "Not right now." He snapped. "I think the biofilters need purging."

The blond appeared slightly dejected at this but finally left the lead scientist's side.

"Any way to get this installed tonight?" McKay turned back to Shep and pointed at the device. He was eager for progress after the dull last couple days.

"I'm, um, I think I should run more simulations." Shep spoke haltingly, his glasses twisted in his hands.

"Alright, I'll help, that should speed things up a bit." Rodney snagged a nearby rolling chair and dropped down next to Shep.

"Yeah, okay." Shep still didn't seem convinced, but turned back to the laptop. After a moment he turned to face Rodney. "Atlantis doesn't have biofilters."

Rodney smirked. "I know."

XXXX

Colonel Sheppard was on his way to the commissary. He'd heard a rumor that there was pecan pie. Two turns and a corridor length away from sweet deliciousness a med team raced past, Keller in the lead as two nurses pushed a gurney and another man in scrubs was close behind, a red med kit in hand.

Alarmed, Sheppard spun to follow, demanding an explanation as he sprinted after them.

"There was an explosion in the main science lab." Keller answered, her voice strained as she continued her frantic pace.

"How bad?" John could feel his heart beating against his chest, matching the pounding of his boots against the floor. Even as he worried about the fate of the personnel in the lab he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't be notified. The science lab was not too far from the commissary, surely he would have heard the explosion if it had been serious?

"I don't know Colonel. I was only told that there were a number of injuries."

Sheppard couldn't be satisfied with this remark, but before he had time to demand more information, information the doctor likely didn't have, he rounded the corner that led off to the lab. Dark splotches on the wall opposite the lab entrance along with the smoke in the hallway made John's heart beat faster yet.

As Sheppard followed the med team into the lab he was met with a scene that immediately brought back the memory of the overload in the quantum reactor. His eyes were drawn to the Jumper sitting in the center of the lab, a gaping hole in its port side. On its own accord his mind realized that the explosion had taken place inside the Jumper as the metal was pushed and twisted outward instead of pressed inwards.

There was someone spread eagle on the floor, a matt of brown hair was obstructing the face but Sheppard could tell it was a woman. Bending down, he gently probed the base of her neck. He couldn't feel a pulse. Hurriedly he pulled the hair from her face and recognized her as Susan Abbot. He tilted his ear over her mouth, checking for breathing and still couldn't find any signs of life.

"Doctor!"

Keller was at his side in an instant. "I can't find a pulse and it doesn't look like she's breathing." His words came flooding out even as he tried to calm his voice. He hardly knew Susan, had really only spoken to her once, when she had arrived on Atlantis three weeks ago, but he couldn't stand to lose anyone under his command.

Jennifer wrapped her stethoscope back around her neck and shook her head. Before she could even say, "I'm sorry Colonel" he knew that Susan was gone. He bowed his head briefly to hide the grimace on his face. Keller left a second later to tend to someone she could help.

Sheppard tore his eyes away from the woman on the ground to take in more of his surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rodney who would have undoubtedly been in the thick of the action. John searched from one sooty face to the next, trying to identify his friend. "McKay! McKay!" His throat was stinging from inhaling the left over fumes and even as a newly arrived security team was evacuating people from the area, Sheppard pushed further into the melee. "Rodney, where the hell are you?"

"Sheppard?"

Squinting, John could see two people standing in the corner, one bearded and long haired the other with short brown hair. He stepped over a chunk of what was probably Jumper siding so he could inspect the weary looking scientist and his double. Neither man appeared to have any serious injuries.

Anger quickly took the place of Sheppard's anxiety. "What the hell happened here?"

Rodney coughed but nevertheless managed to say, "I'm fine by the way."

"McKay, there's a giant hole in the Jumper and a lot of people are injured." He refrained from mentioning the person who had died, knowing it was not the time.

The scientist opened his mouth, but then his expression twisted into an unreadable expression and snapped his mouth shut again.

"We were installing the excess power converter. It must have caused an unforeseen complication in the Jumper's power systems." Shep answered for Rodney.

"The what?" He hadn't heard anything about a power converter and he didn't like this kind of surprise.

"It was my idea," Shep started carefully. "It was supposed to prevent power overloads. It looks like it caused one."

Sheppard instincts immediately kicked into gear, telling him that Shep was hiding something. He was about to pull Rodney aside, but it the head scientist had the same idea. Once they had moved out of hearing distance, Rodney started talking rapidly.

"When we running simulations on the device everything appeared normal. I wouldn't even be mentioning it now but- damn it, why didn't I notice before? I think Shep was trying to cover it up. I mean I wouldn't have even noticed if the readings on the Jumper hadn't indicated that-"

John held up a hand to stop the blabbering scientist. "Are you telling me that this-" he waved around at the still smoking room, "is Shep's fault?"

"Yes, it's the only thing that makes sense." Rodney's expression became darker. "He was trying to destroy the lab. I don't know, maybe even the whole city."

Tapping his radio John turned towards Shep, only to find him gone. "Major Lorne, our visitor has gone missing. I need you to take a security detail and apprehend him."

A confused Lorne came on the comm. "No need Colonel, he's here in the hall."

"Keep him there Major." John ordered sprinting back out of the lab. He emerged into a tangle of medical personnel and coughing scientists. A quick scan of the corridor revealed Lorne to be standing next to a guilty looking Shep. Pushing his way over to them, Sheppard grabbed a hold of both of Shep's arms, pulling them behind his back. He applied pressure, causing the bearded man to cry out.

"Colonel, what's going on?" Sheppard noticed Lorne had snapped into battle mode, though he still looked confused.

"This man" at that word Sheppard twisted Shep's arms again, "is suspected of deliberately setting off the explosion that destroyed this lab."

Shep let out a sob, not of pain but anxiety. "No! I would never do that!"

"Save it." Sheppard snarled. He felt Shep's legs give out and was suddenly half holding him up.

Rodney, who had followed John into the corridor, came into sight and at once Shep started pleading with him, "Rodney! You've got to believe me. I would never try to hurt you or anyone here. You have to know that."

The scientist surged forward but stopped himself almost immediately, coming to an awkward halt a foot away from Sheppard and the struggling man. His expression was contorted into pain from betrayal.

Not being able to stand the look of hurt on McKay's face, John pushed Shep out in front of him and pulled his gun, Lorne following suit. He motioned two other military personnel over and began walking, the four men with guns keeping Shep centered between them.

John's mind was spinning. He'd never trusted Shep entirely, especially at first. Over the last few days he'd been starting to think that he was really just being paranoid, like Rodney kept telling him. But now he had his suspicions confirmed and yet something was still nagging at him. He couldn't figure out exactly what it was, but Shep seemed too cowardly for such a blatant act of hostility. What was the motive? Shep must want to go back to his own reality and for that he needed their help. Well, he certainly wasn't going to get any help from them now.

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think, is Shep really trying to do them all in?**


	10. Stranger Like Me

**A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. Between school, vacation, and being out of touch with the real world I haven't had much of a chance to even stare at this. Don't worry though there is more coming very soon, probably within the next couple days. So keep a look out. And in the mean time enjoy!**

The last six hours had been a flurry of activity. Rodney had been so busy with the aftermath of the explosion all thoughts of Shep had been shoved to the back of his mind. Ordering around the science staff, arguing with Jennifer that he was fine, assessing the extent of the damage… But as he sat in the cushioned chair and allowed his muscles to relax the adrenaline began to ebb from his body. His senses, which had been numbed from the powerful hormone, were returning in full force. The dull ache of betrayal was manifesting itself as a sharp stab in the back. And the sting of Abbot's death was finally hitting him. He couldn't get the image of Jennifer wheeling her stiff body out of the science lab out of his head.

Carter arrived in the briefing room breaking Rodney from his train of thought. Without preamble she sat down next to Teyla and began, "I was just having a chat with out visitor." What wasn't showing on her face emerged in the sharp edge to her voice.

Glancing over at Sheppard, Rodney knew that the colonel was as drained as he was, but he wasn't letting it show. The recent events had kindled the familiar fire behind his eyes when Atlantis was in danger. "Did he admit to causing the lab explosion?"

Sam shook her head, "No, he actually seems genuinely confused. He kept asking whether anyone was hurt."

"Well, we know he's a good actor. He's been putting on a show for us since he got here." John said bitterly.

Rodney remained silent. He knew that it was his fault that Shep had been able to sabotage the lab. He should have been watching him more closely, should have known Sheppard was right, as he so often was in these situations.

"What are we going to do with him?" Ronon asked. His fingers were drumming on the table as if anxious to snap into action.

Sam responded, "We need more information about what happened so we can discern how Shep was able to sneak an explosive right under our noses."

"I'm on it." Rodney stood, eager to get back to the lab, even though he'd just left from there.

For a moment Colonel Carter looked like she was about to stop him and suggest he take a break, but clearly she decided against it and waved a hand to show that he was dismissed.

As he was leaving, Rodney heard Sheppard say that he would like a chance to interrogate the prisoner. It was hard for him to ignore the fact that his new best friend was now being confined in the holding cell as a belligerent enemy.

And for the millionth time since the incident Rodney had the urge to go visit Shep. Demand an explanation for what had happened. Maybe he could somehow find a way to reassure himself that it wasn't Shep's fault at all, but a terrible accident. But, he shook his head; he'd seen the readings for himself. It had been the power stabilizer that had caused the accident, the very stabilizer that Shep had designed and built all alone.

"Wait." Rodney voiced entirely to himself. A passing airman looked at him inquisitively but the scientist took no noticed. Quickening his pace, Rodney headed for the lab. He'd just remembered something.

XXXX

Sam's eyes were burning from staring so long at her computer screen. Her desk was a pile of unread reports and supply requests, a half empty mug of coffee precariously perched on the only uncluttered corner. It was a little past 0200 and she knew she wasn't likely to make a dent in any of work that she still had left before she passed out on her keyboard.

Reaching for a piece of paper on the other side of the desk she had the momentary feeling that she wasn't alone before Rodney McKay swooped into her office and knocked a stack of files off her desk.

"Oh, sorry about that." He mumbled, not bothering to pick them back up. His manner completely belied the late hour as he practically bounced on his heels.

"What is it Rodney?" Her voice came out rather raspier than she expected, making her wonder when the last time she'd had something to drink was.

"I'm glad you're still up. I thought maybe because of the time you'd -"

"Yes, Rodney. Did you find something?"

"I was just going back over the data from the Jumper right before we plugged in Shep's power stabilizer. You know it was a remarkable idea, if we could get it -"

Carter held up an irritated hand, forcing the blabbering scientist to stop mid-sentence. "I'm sure you'll figure it out at some point. But what do you want to tell me right now?"

"You're not going to believe this. The data I collected proves without a doubt that -"

"Ma'am?" A technician had just stuck her head into the office.

"Yes Cutler?"

"The Daedalus has just dropped out of hyperspace. It looks like they've been in some sort of battle. Their propulsion and communications are down."

"What?" Rodney asked, mirroring Sam's own thoughts.

All three of them proceeded into the main part of the control tower. McKay immediately started pushing buttons on one of the consoles. "She's right. We're not getting any response from them." He affirmed craning his neck to look back at Sam.

"We need to get up there." Carter tapped her earpiece. "Colonel Sheppard." She paused and then said louder. "Colonel!"

A groggy "Sheppard here" came over the radio.

"Assemble your team Colonel. The Daedalus had just arrived."

"What happened?" was the much more alert response.

"They're in bad shape. Their communications are down. It looks like they were on the losing end of a dog fight." Rodney answered, his voice exhibiting the same anxiety that Sam was now feeling.

"I'll be right there." Sheppard said before the connection was terminated.

Sam turned back to the scientist, her voice a mix of worry and anger, "Rodney, figure out what the hell happened up there."

He returned her blue eyed gaze, "We'll do everything we can."

It was some moments after he left that Sam remembered the reason Rodney had come to her office in the first place. What had he wanted to tell her?

XXXX

The rest of the team was ready and waiting in Jumper Four as Rodney hustled about checking and cross-checking data readouts. Sheppard didn't know exactly what they were for, something about overloads and decompression. He hadn't really been paying attention, he was far too anxious to get up to the Daedalus and discover what was keeping the crew from responding to their hails. As Rodney paced the length of the ship one more time, John let his mind replay the events of last night.

_Walking into the holding room, he was greeted with the disconcerting sight of himself pressed up against the bars. It took him a second to realize that he was only looking at Shep. The look on the other man's face was too close to the type of expression John knew he had on his face every time he got captured by the enemy. _

_The look took Sheppard aback only momentarily. He carefully rearranged his features into the customary 'I'll make you confess' glare he wore so often to interrogations._

_He'd planned on yelling first, expecting Shep to deny everything, maybe sob a little as he tried to beg and pronounce his innocence. Shep apparently had different plans.  
_

"_Is anyone seriously injured? I tried to ask the guards but they won't answer me."_

_John let the question hang in the air as he considered what Shep's motives were for asking. Most likely Shep was trying to seem compassionate to further his I-wouldn't-hurt-a-fly defense._

"_Susan Abbot died." He managed to grit out. He felt oddly satisfied by Shep's cringe._

"_I'm sorry." The prisoner's eyes swept the room, landing on everything except John. "I'm so sorry."_

_So he's feeling guilty._

"_I don't know if you knew her well. But for the few days that I've been here she showed me extreme kindness. Have you informed her family yet?" Shep asked; his expression mournful._

_John ignored the question. "How did you manage it? Provide false calculations so that Rodney wouldn't know what you were up to. You'd have to be pretty clever to get around McKay."_

"_John, I don't know what went wrong. You have to believe me. Why would I want to hurt you? Any of you?"_

"_Blowing up the room you were in was a risky move." Sheppard leaned back, relaxing into a slouch against the far wall. "Were you that confident in your calculations or was the blast premature?"_

_Raising his hands in another shockingly familiar gesture, Shep started pleading again. "I'm no threat to you. I don't have any reason to hurt you, besides Atlantis and her people are my best chance for returning to my reality. Why would I risk that?"_

"_Don't for a minute delude yourself into thinking that I believe one word that you've said since the moment you got here." He leaned forward unconsciously. "You show up and tell us about a super weapon that no one is this reality has ever heard about. Tell us a sob story about you're supposed best friend so that we feel bad for you and it makes it all the harder to not trust you. You've got Rodney so convinced that you're his friend that he lets you do whatever the hell you want. Then you get an idea for a device even McKay hasn't though of and boom someone is dead. And don't think I've forgotten the Jumper crash." Now that's a damn long string of coincidences if you haven't had a hand in any of it.  
_

_Shep's jaw hardened as if he was grinding his teeth. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I wouldn't hurt anyone here on purpose." A glint of understanding and grief washed over his bearded face before he dropped his head as if ashamed. "Damn it. Why didn't I think… it is so obvious. I can't believe…"_

_The sudden babbling aggravated John's anger even further. "What?" It was a growl rather than a word._

_Shep met his glare, identical brown eyes staring into one another. "It was the power stabilizer. I'd designed it for a normal Jumper and we tested it in the overloaded Jumper. We don't even know yet what exactly happened to the Jumper there could have been all sorts of unknown variables. I told Rodney we test a different Jumper but he was in a hurry and that one was already in the lab. It was convenient and Rodney was insistent-"_

"_Don't you dare blame Rodney for this." John interrupted. "You don't know any of us and yet, you walk in and act like you belong here. You act like you… like you care…"_

_There was a sharp intake of breath. Shep was hunched forward, his shoulders slumped and his long hair that was normally tied back was hanging in his face so that John couldn't read his expression. "I do care."_

_It was so quiet John had to strain to hear the admission. There was something in the man's voice that restarted the nagging feeling he'd been feeling for days, except now it was more like a biting, thrashing doubt._

_Shep raised his head slowly. There was wetness in the corner of his eyes. "Can't you understand what this is like for me? My best friend died less than three months ago and suddenly I get dragged to an alternate reality where he's alive and safe. Every time I look at him I'm looking at a ghost… but he's real. Actually real."_

_Sheppard studied his double. The outward differences in their appearance had allowed him to pretend that there was no connection between himself and the man in front of him. The long hair and the glasses had provided the evidence he needed to push away the possibility that he may have something in common with this bushy, sensitive, geek. But as he stared into his own eyes, he couldn't pretend anymore. Hadn't he had this argument with Rodney when Rod had arrived? He hadn't been able to understand why Rodney wouldn't want to spend time with his double. He'd said they were the same. Rodney had answered flustered, 'He's not me. I'm me, the real me.' And Rodney had been partly right, but even as different as the two were they'd still had their similarities. How could he have thought that he and Shep, even originating from alternate realities, not have at least _one_ thing in common?_

_But when Shep had appeared in the lab he'd found out exactly Rodney had been feeling for those few days that Rod had been around. And from the start, as soon as he'd learned how nerdy and awkward his double was, Sheppard had pushed him away. No, he reminded himself, it hadn't been from the start. It had been right after the scene in the commissary._

_Was it possible that he so afraid that he may actually have something in common with Shep that he couldn't believe that the man could care as much about the people of Atlantis as he did?_

"_There's more isn't there?" The anger was melting away as John began to put the pieces into place. He knew that Shep was hiding something, but for the first time he considered that maybe that secret had nothing to do with the Jumper crash or the destroyed lab. That's when Shep had admitted the one thing that could change everything._

"Alright, we're good to go." McKay's voice was loud, breaking Sheppard from his reverie.

Shaking off the memory, the Colonel snapped back into command mode, reminding himself what they had to do. He mentally powered up the Jumper and had them maneuvering out of the Atlantis control tower in record time.

As the Daedalus came into view Sheppard knew that there was something wrong immediately. Though there was no damage visible from this distance, the lack of the normal pinpoint lights mirroring the shine of the stars proveded that the ship was lifeless.

"Daedalus this is Colonel Sheppard. Please respond." John requested, distress coloring his voice. There was no answer. "Damn it. Rodney what do you got?"

"The life pods haven't been jettisoned. Internal systems are functioning; life support, artificial gravity…" He trailed off as they rounded to the other side of the ship. A giant scorched tear ran nearly from stem to stern, leaving corridors and rooms open to the vacuum of space.

Teyla made a startled noise behind Sheppard. He couldn't blame her. By the look of the hull, he couldn't help the horrible thought that there may not be anyone left to rescue.

"What could have done that?" Ronon asked awestruck.

Sheppard shook his head, "I don't know, but let's hope we don't run into it."

Docking in the bay was no problem as the bay doors had been shorn off. What took a considerable longer amount of time was McKay patching into the Daedalus' systems so that he could reactivate the force shield and pressurize the docking bay. But being that it was Rodney who was working, the considerable amount of time was still only a few minutes.

"Teyla grab the med kit." Sheppard ordered before he opened the Jumper's rear hatch.

A quick look around confirmed that they were alone. Not that it was too likely someone had survived the depressurization of the bay in the first place.

John turned, not surprised to find Rodney absorbed in the life signs detector. "I'm picking up something in the holding bay on this level."

"Our people?" Teyla asked concern evident in her voice.

McKay shook his head, "Not likely, there's only one life sign. There's a group of readings on the bridge."

"Well that's a good sign." John said, trying to buoy his own hopes as well as those of his team. He motioned Ronon toward the door to the hallway and drew his gun just as Ronon drew his own. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he knew that if the Daedalus was attacked there was always the chance they had been boarded. Nevertheless there was no one, friendly or hostile, in the corridor.

"Rodney, you and Teyla head to engineering, see if you can't get the communications back online. Ronon and I will go to the bridge."

"Right, after you." McKay pointed off to the left and waited for Teyla to take the lead, her P90 ready.

Sheppard aimed a quick, "Be careful" at their retreating backs then led Ronon in the opposite direction.


	11. Get Out Alive

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the encouragement. I know this chapter is a bit short, but I'm working on the rest. **

"Oh, what is this?" Rodney complained at the steel door in front of him. They'd left Colonel Sheppard and Ronon only a couple minutes ago and had already run into two sealed doors due to the pockets of decompression littering the battle ravaged ship.

"Is not there another way around?" Teyla asked soothingly. She didn't know as much as Rodney about the Daedalus' schematics, but she suspected that if there were numerous and large enough depressurized sections on board, they may not be able to make it to engineering at all.

McKay pulled out the life signs detector from the front of his tac vest. After a brief consultation he groaned loudly. "Yes, we'll have to make a major detour. To bypass this and the other two areas we found, we'll have to go almost to the bottom deck, then come back up somewhere around the mess and run the gauntlet around that enormous ravine that's running the length of the hull.

"Is that really necessary?" Teyla asked. She was trying to determine if Rodney was being over dramatic for the sake of being over dramatic or if they were really in that serious situation.

"Well, I didn't bring an EV suit, how bout you?"

Forcing herself to remain patient Teyla didn't bother responding, but just followed as Rodney led the way.

She tapped her radio, "John, this is Teyla, I'm afraid we've hit a bit of a problem. There is a large sealed section which we will have to navigate around."

"Yeah, we've hit our share of those too. Check in when you get to engineering."

Teyla responded in the affirmative before closing the connection. She didn't like the thought of having to go so far out of their way to get to the crew and the one room from which they could truly ascertain the extent of the damage. And most importantly find out what really happened here. Not to mention the possibility that there were injured on the ship who may be stranded from much needed medical supplies. With these thoughts in mind Teyla pushed forward, causing Rodney to increase his pace to keep up.

Thirty minutes and what seemed like as many blocked doors later, they had managed to make their way around to a corridor near the mess hall.

"Hey, I'm getting a group of life signs behind here." The scientist pointed through a bulkhead.

"This door appears to be sealed. I thought that the sealed areas were decompressed." Teyla asked confused as to how people could be alive in no atmosphere.

"Yes, the ship automatically seals decompressed areas, but areas near them are sometimes sealed as well. It creates a kind of buffer so that if hull integrity fails in one place-"

"The entire section is not compromised." She finished for him.

"And unless this life signs detector is wrong, then this section does have atmosphere" while he spoke he had pried open the door panel, "and it should be a simple matter of overriding the safety protocol… and-" the door in front of him whooshed open. "Ah hah." He grinned back at Teyla, but she wasn't paying attention.

In front of them lay the entire mess. It appeared as though the battle had begun right in the middle of a meal, as there was food and trays scattered willy-nilly throughout the room. Teyla even spotted what she suspected to be mashed potatoes on the ceiling.

Rodney didn't seem to take in the surroundings, however, as he maneuvered his way towards another sealed door at the far end of the room. Teyla recognized it as the galley's supply closet.

"The life signs are originating from behind here."

The astrophysicist made as if to open this door as well, when Teyla stopped him by laying a restraining hand on his arm. "How do we know that these life forms are our people?"

"Good point." Rodney turned back to the steel door and rapped out what she recognized as 'Two bits'. The required two short knocks responded, muffled but irrefutable.

"Who's there?" A shaking, yet defiant voice called.

"Doctor McKay and Teyla, we're going to get you out of there."

A muffled chorus of cheers issued from the door. "Oh thank god. We thought we were done for. So we made it back to Atlantis?"

Teyla exchanged a look with Rodney. She wondered how long they had been stuck in there. It took seconds to unseal the galley door and Teyla was surprised by how many people had crammed into the closet. Enough so that there looked like barely enough room for them all sit down at the same time.

"I'm Lieutenant Borland." A young man announced stepping out from the cramped space. He had short light brown hair and looked barely older than twenty five.

"Do you have any idea how long you've been in there?" McKay asked before the man could utter another word.

The man replied, "About two days I think." He glanced down at his watch and Teyla suspected if not for that piece of technology he would not have been able to answer the question.

"What can you tell us about what happened here?" Teyla asked, trying to keep the anxiousness from her voice as she wondered how many people could be in serious trouble after such a long span of time after the battle.

"Well, we arrived at the coordinates right on schedule. I'm just a cook so no one bothered to tell me that the planet we'd arrived at had a super weapon at their disposal. So I'm right in the middle of preparing the meatloaf when Dr. Barber runs into the room shouting something about being targeted. Next thing I know I get knocked off my feet by this insane jolt and there's smoke pouring out of the walls. Barber says that the hull's getting pulled to bits and that we need to move. So I immediately thought of the supply closet. That's how come we've been stuck in this damned closet for who knows how long. Sorry I'm not much more help. How's the ship look?"

"It has taken extensive damage." Teyla replied gently.

The young man ran a hand across the back of his neck. "Man, it couldn't have lasted more than ten minutes. Whatever is on that planet is not something we should be messing with."

Rodney glanced at Teyla and she was only too aware that his mask of worry was reflected in her own features.

McKay tapped his radio and apprised Sheppard of their current situation. Teyla heard the Colonel's response in her own ear.

"And none of them know what really happened?"

"Lieutenant Borland only said that the battle was over very quickly." Teyla responded.

Rodney asked, "What do you want us to do with them?"

"I'll radio Atlantis, it looks like we're going to need more help up here. Find out if there's any there who can help fix the ship, send everyone else to the 302 bay. If you come across anyone else send them in that direction, but make engineering your first priority. Once there you can get communications online and we'll try to round up the rest."

The astrophysicist snorted as if he abhorred the idea of needing assistance. But as the conversation with Sheppard ended Teyla addressed the large group before her. "Are any of you assigned to engineering?"

A pretty Asian, possibly Korean, woman stepped forward. "I'm Katy Cho. I'm one of the senior engineers."

"Alright, you can come with us. The rest of you, just uh, head to the 302 bay. We're going to get people up here to get you back to Atlantis."

There were sighs of relief at this piece of news as everyone except for Katy walked out of the door and back the way she and Rodney had come.

"How badly is the ship damaged?"

Rodney cringed slightly, "Well, at the moment it looks like it could double for a prop on the set of a disaster movie."

Teyla didn't miss the fleeting look of dismay on the engineers face. She knew that those who worked on machines often personified them to the point that every ding was like a personal insult. She felt terrible that the ship was in such a condition, but was more worried about the crew on board.

"Do you believe that there are crewmembers still in the engine room?"

Rodney nodded, "Yes, there are life signs registering there. From the number I would say that people from surrounding sections went there as a place of refuge. Many of the surrounding corridors are depressurized."

"We should find out if they are in need of assistance then." Teyla said, giving a gentle push.

"Yes, yes." The astrophysicist agreed.

Teyla didn't miss his glare at the life signs detector as if it had caused all the damage onboard.

XXXX

The way to the bridge was deserted as the life signs detector John checked every few meters. The lack of distraction didn't help his troubled mind as he struggled to keep from thinking about what kind of weapon could possibly have enough power to cause the kind of damage he'd witnessed on the Daedalus' hull. He also had to wonder what kind of condition the crew of the Daedalus would be in once they encountered them on the bridge…. at least he hoped the mass of life signs on the bridge belonged to the crew.

"Sheppard come in." The voice in his ear startled John more than he would later admit.

"What is it Rodney? Are you at engineering yet?"

"No, actually we stopped by the galley-"

"What did you get hungry?"

An irritated voice responded. "Yeah, I wanted a turkey sandwich so I took a detour." The short pause held enough exasperation to let Sheppard know that Rodney would be glaring at him if it was physically possible. But Rodney soon resumed the story, filling John in on the details of the little group they had discovered in the galley.

The fact that the battle had occurred nearly two days ago had Sheppard quickening his pace. He didn't like the idea that the Daedalus hadn't had time to so much as mount a defense before they were attacked. "Looks like Shep's super weapon exists." He muttered to Ronon who merely grunted. John couldn't agree more. He'd helped convince Carter that they should check out the weapon planet, and in doing so had sent the Daedalus and her crew straight into a battle they couldn't win. His mind immediately jumped to Shep, wasn't it he who had brought up the weapon in the first place? He mentally shook himself, yesterday it would have been easy to blame Shep for this, but since the interrogation he wasn't sure anymore. So why did he still feel inclined to blame the hapless mathematician? Maybe it was just easier to blame his double than himself.

Not paying attention to his surroundings Sheppard was surprised when his boot came into contact with something hard. Looking down, he saw that there was debris scattered all along the corridor he and Ronon had just turned down.

"What a mess." He remarked cavalierly. Close as they were to the bridge he hoped that the damage here wasn't indicative of what they were about to find. Yet, the life signs detector was shining with a multitude of little blue dots and he hung on to that as he stepped carefully through the wreckage.

Rounding a bend, the door the bridge lay before them. He tapped the door control and before the door had opened fully he was met with the muzzle of a gun.

TBC


	12. Previously

"Oh, Colonel. Sorry about that." The owner of the Beretta dropped it quickly. "You'll find we're all a little jumpy. Guess I should have been expecting you though."

Lieutenant Payson had a cut running along his right shoulder, but by the way he was grinning you'd have thought he'd just won the lottery. A cursory glance around the bridge revealed that no one was in critical condition and Sheppard allowed himself a sigh of relief. There was one problem though.

"Where's Colonel Caldwell?" Apparently, Ronon hadn't missed the man's absence either.

"He went down to engineering to give them a hand. Honestly, I think he was getting a bit stir-crazy up here. There's absolutely no power and not even Hermiod seems to be able to do anything about it."

"McKay's on his way there now." No power, that would explain the lack of communications, but – "How did you get here without any power?"

"We limped home, sir. We were in pretty bad shape after the battle." He smirked ironically, "well, still are. But when the colonel ordered us to retreat we were venting atmosphere. The sub-light engines had been hit. Somehow we were able to engage hyperspace. Amazingly it cut out right when we arrived. Kind of like a miracle, isn't it sir?" The lieutenant was still grinning like a maniac. You had to hand it to the kid, nothing could kill his spirit.

John couldn't help but grin back. "Yeah." Turing away he activated his radio. "McKay are you there yet?"

A very irritated, "We're going as fast as we can," replied.

"Colonel Caldwell should be there when you arrive, ask him to return to the bridge would ya?"

"Alright, alright. McKay out."

After the brief conversation, John returned to the task at hand. "What can you tell me about the battle?"

The lieutenant exhaled slowly. Clearly the tale was neither an easy nor a short one.

Sheppard braced himself. Since the extent of the Daedalus' injuries had become clear he had known that the battle had been more serious than anyone on Atlantis had imagined. The lieutenant began his narrative, starting from the very beginning.

XXXX

"We're nearly there Colonel. A few more minutes and we'll be within communications distance." Leo Payson informed Caldwell from his station at tactical.

"Drop out of hyperspace just out of scanning distance. Let's not give them any chance to attack."

"Aye, aye sir." Payson affirmed brushing a stray blond bang out of his face as he turned back to his console. Praying this wouldn't take long, he entered the sequence to disengage the hyperspace generator. Unconsciously he braced himself for the jolt he knew wasn't coming. Even though it was impossible to tell when you were entering or exiting hyperspace unless you were near a window he always expected there to be a massive shift in inertia.

A blue sphere appeared on the view screen. From this distance it was only the size of an orange until the proper magnification was put into place. A strip of land ran along the equator, causing the planet to look as if it had rings.

"What are the long distance scanners picking up, Major?" Colonel Caldwell asked of the red head to his right.

"There are a few regions of enormously high energy readings." Major Cooper answered in his slight English accent. "Wait, we're being targeted!"

"Evasive maneuvers!" Payson recognized the note of carefully restrained panic he had become familiar with the few times he had flown with the colonel. Just as he was reaching to follow the command there was a jolt which shook the entire ship causing him to be thrown onto the ground hitting his head against the console on the way down.

He awoke what he gathered to be a few minutes later, but he could tell that the battle was already over. Upon first opening his eyes he saw that there was an unfamiliar airman occupying his seat. There was a burn mark along the man's left shoulder. Disoriented and beginning to feel the coming of a massive migraine he shifted upright slowly. This movement summoned Major Cooper to abandon the panel he had desperately been pounding on to come to Payson's aid.

"You took quite a bump on the noggin. Sorry we left you on the floor there, but we've had other worries."

"How's she look?" Leo queried, his own health forgotten as he took in the state of the bridge. He noticed that the stars outside were quite stationary and he wondered if the engines were working.

"Well, she's looked better mate. Here ya go." Cooper offered as he helped the man to his feet.

"What happened?"

"Wha, you don't remember conking your head on the console there?"

"After that."

"We got shot."

Payson glowered at him as respectfully as possible. Cooper only met this with a laugh. "Then we got shot a few more times. Then we stuck out tail between our legs and ran faster than a bunny with a hound at its heels. Amazing we even got away in one piece at all really."

With this information Payson turned to more closely survey the bridge. It didn't look too worse for wear, if you ignored the exposed circuits and the fire damage that was. Caldwell was barking orders at a half dozen mechanics who apparently weren't working fast enough on a section that Leo was sure housed the life support for the upper decks. There were a myriad of other airman and civilian scientists poring over consoles and workstations. Cooper had returned to updating the colonel on the ship's status while sporadically pounding the console in front of him.

Relieving the clearly inexperienced airman from his station, Payson's fingers flew across the touch screen as he scanned the ship for damage. What he saw nearly knocked him out of his seat again. There was an entire section of the ship missing. As if the Daedalus had gone in for a nose job and the surgeon had simply removed the entire nose rather than fix it. This caused Payson to consider how Michael Jackson must feel and he snickered despite himself. That was just his personality though; nothing could keep him down for long.

"Something amusing over there Lieutenant?"

Leo flinched at the harsh voice of his commander. "No not at all sir." He returned to his examination of the ship and was met with another nasty shock when he pulled up the status of the hyperdrive. Not being an engineer he wasn't completely sure he was interpreting the readings properly, but a nearby woman speaking to Caldwell confirmed his fears.

"Sir, the drive could fail at any moment. Not to mention the fact that the shields are barely holding us together as it is. I'm not sure that we'd survive another jump to hyperspace."

Clearly on his last nerve Caldwell drew his brows together as if facial distortion would expend some of the energy that was clearly coursing through his veins. "We need to get back to Atlantis as soon as possible to warn them. Now tell me how we do this Lieutenant."

"A patch!" The woman exclaimed quite inexplicably.

"Excuse me?" The Colonel's voice was lower than normal.

"If we can get the hyperdrive stabilized we could get it running long enough to make a series of jumps back to Atlantis. If we could hybridize its systems to another, say the sub-light engines then we might be able to give it enough power to get us back home."

"I thought the sub-lights were offline."

The woman broke into a dazzling smile, "We can fix that."

"That's what I like to hear. Have at it, Doctor."

"Yes, sir."

Two hours later, even Payson was beginning to get worried that maybe fixing the hyperdrive wasn't as easy as it sounded, not that it had sounded easy to him, but that energetic woman had seemed confident enough.

Caldwell was pacing. Or what would have been pacing if there had been enough room to do so. He was wavering back and forth in front of his chair. Every so often he would scowl at a team of workers, but then turn away and waver some more. As a military man it seemed like he was having hard time 'staying out of the way' so it was no surprise when he announced that he was going down to engineering to see how the work was progressing. The internal communications had failed sometime in the last two hours. Payson suspected that people were siphoning off power any way they could.

Soon after the colonel had left, Leo discerned the low hum of the hyper drive from among the varied voices and mechanical sounds on the bridge. Seconds later the ship was again hurtling through the stars. A cacophony of cheers and applause erupted from those on the bridge and Payson felt his own heart lighten considerably.

The next couple days were spent repairing various critical systems as they one by one went offline. When the Daedalus eventually reached Atlantis there was no power left for anything but the basics. Everyone onboard had been so occupied trying to keep them alive that they'd barely had opportunities to sleep, let alone perform any nonessential maintenance which accounted for the state of ship when John Sheppard's team arrived.


	13. Losing Grip

"Finally." Rodney gasped as he, Teyla, and Katy Cho approached the open doorway in front of them. It had taken nearly an hour and a half of rerouting and backtracking for them to reach engineering. They'd only run into a small group of civilian scientists on the way who had all been sent to the 302 bay. Upon entering the crowded room Rodney was met with the smell of acrid smoke and unwashed bodies. There were so many technicians and assorted crew that there wasn't even enough room for the three of them to enter.

It seemed as if the room had been transformed into a beehive and there was so much activity that the arrival of the newcomers wasn't noticed right away. That was until Rodney started shouting that them.

"Okay, everyone out! Rescue teams are on the way and I need room to work." He was met with a hundred eyes staring at him as if he had three heads. "And where's Colonel Caldwell? Sheppard wants him on the bridge." There was more staring.

One petite engineer nearby replied clearly confused, "Colonel Caldwell is on the bridge. He left a little while ago."

Rodney could practically feel Teyla's worried eyes boring into the side of his head. Turning to her he said, "If he had to take the same route we did, it could take him a couple hours to even get there." Even as he said it though, he knew something wasn't right. "How long ago did he leave?" He asked of the petite woman.

"I'm not quite sure." She still appeared confused.

"I don't need it down the millisecond. Minutes, hours…?"

The woman stared blankly at him. "I don't know. I guess it was…" The woman trailed off and turned to a console.

At first McKay thought that she was checking the time, but when she didn't turn back around he glanced at Teyla. She didn't seem to understand what was going on either and she was the one who was supposed to 'get' people.

They both tried asking the some of the others gathered in the room, but no one seemed to be able to give more of an answer than, "a little while ago". When they completed their survey Rodney updated John with this development. He didn't seem too worried about it however, and attributed their lack of time awareness to the stress of the recent mission. He was considerably more alarmed about the fact that the Colonel was missing and made it Rodney's top priority to get the internal scanners back online so that they could retrieve all of the scattered Daedalus personnel.

With a clear goal in mind Rodney turned his attention back to the evacuation of the engine room. "Okay everyone, listen up! You all need to go to the 302 bay. There are people from Atlantis on the way now to come get you."

This announcement had marginally more effect than his previous, as this time people began filtering slowly out of the room. When the procession ended only Hermiod was left, who looked as he always looked, bored. "I believe you would like to know the current status of the ship?"

"No, I thought we'd just sit around and wait for the hull to decompress."

The alien blinked.

Rodney made a mental note to put sarcasm on the backburner for now. "Yes, of course, I want the status report."

"There are a multitude of systems down. Communications, sensors, weapons, sub light engines, hyper drive…"

"Yeah, maybe you should just say what is working." Katy cut off the Asgard, earning herself a point in Rodney's book.

"Life support is being maintained at non-lethal levels." The Asgard paused for an indiscernible reason. "The damage to the hull has become critical on decks three through six. The readings from those sections are indicating that the emergency forcefields will fail in between fifteen and thirty minutes."

"Is there anyone in those sections?" Teyla asked. She sounded as if she were ready to jump through fire if need be to get anyone out.

Rodney scanned the internal sensors but there were holes everywhere on the grid and he could only clearly read decks eight and above. "I've got no idea. But if there is they are in big trouble. Look at this…" He traced a line running across the console. This is the tear in the hull and these are the decompressed sections surrounding the compromised section of the hull." He then pointed to the middle of the vaguely circular area. It was black. "If there is anyone in this section on deck five or six. There is no way of getting to them."

"What about the EV suits?"

McKay turned to Katy, "It would take too long. Between getting geared up and walking over there. Plus what would we do once there? This isn't exactly a situation where buddy breathing is going to help."

"Is there anyway that you can pressurize the areas from here?"

"Maybe, but getting the power to maintain forcefields in that area would be a problem. But maybe if I reroute from the…"

He, Katy, and Hermiod sank into work mode, leaving Teyla to contact Sheppard and let him know that the scanners were going to have to wait until Rodney had re-stabilized the ship.

XXXX

"Alright, thanks for the update. Sheppard out." John tapped his radio, ending his discussion with Teyla. Payson looked grim, and John knew that he had discerned enough from the conversation to figure out that Caldwell was missing and the Daedalus was in major trouble. The Colonel clapped him on the shoulder with all of the encouragement he could muster. "Don't worry; McKay is going to figure this out. He doesn't think that the rest of the ship is in any appreciable danger if that section of the hull fails."

"But what about Colonel Caldwell? How could he just go missing? I feel like he was just up here pacing and ordering everyone around."

Not sure what else to say to the kid, Sheppard gave a reassuring smile and joined Ronon who was leaning against a bulkhead.

"I want you to escort his group to the 302 bay." Sheppard whispered to him as nonchalantly as possible.

"Do you think Caldwell was abducted by someone onboard?"

"I'm not sure right now, but something fishy is going on and I want you to keep an eye on these people and make sure they get to Atlantis safely. Once you get back to the city you can give Carter a more detailed briefing of what's going on here."

Ronon didn't look pleased, as if ruing the thought of missing a possible fire-fight.

John immediately picked up on this. "I know you'd rather stay here, but if anything is on this ship, you're the only one I can count on to make sure no one gets hurt."

Ronon accepted this with a grunt which just left John to order everyone off the bridge. There were quite a few protests, especially from the civilians, but eventually he had convinced everyone to go, except for a couple of the higher ranking crew members who could monitor the bridge situation as necessary. Sheppard was going to engineering to help with what he could there. It seemed unlikely that he'd be able to do much, but he told himself, there was the remote possibility he'd run into Caldwell on the way there.

After he'd split off from Ronon and his batch of 'ducklings' John made his way carefully through the maze of remaining pressurized corridors that led to the engine room. He checked his life signs detector ever few meters, just in case, but every time it was blank except for his own solitary dot.

"McKay to Sheppard, please come in."

The unexpected voice in his ear made John jump. Smiling at the false scare he responded, "What's up Rodney?"

"We can't get the forcefields back online, there just isn't enough power left in the ship." The man's voice held a familiar note of panic, which had Sheppard's own heart beginning to race. Whenever McKay got scared on a mission there was usually a very good reason, the appearance of large bugs notwithstanding.

"How long until the fields fail?"

"Less than five minutes. But that isn't the problem."

John stopped walking involuntarily.

Rodney continued, "Cho got the internal scanners working again and there are at least twenty life signs in that section.

"McKay?" The uttering of that single word revealed more than could have been expressed in one thousand.

"I know Sheppard, but there's no way to get there."

It didn't matter, John was moving again, fast. He was already on deck five and the sealed off section was only meters ahead of him. He didn't know how he was going to get to those twenty stranded souls, but he was going to do it, even if he had to knock down walls to get there.

"John, I know what you are thinking, but there's no time. You can't save them." Teyla's voice was fading as the blood rushed in his ears. There was no use in answering; they would just tell him that it couldn't be done.

XXXX

Sheppard skidded to a stop just in time to keep from careening straight into the bulkhead. After accessing the door controls, he glared at the agonizingly slow movement of metal sliding open to display the cramped interior of a sole life pod.

His eyes slid over the seats arranged closely against the circular walls. Ten. Only ten seats. Minus one for himself. But he thought he could probably manage with two more people squished into the middle. "What's the status of those forcefields Rodney?"

"Holding for now, but they're not going to last much longer." The tension in his voice shifted slightly as he asked, "You do realize you're crazy right?"

"When has that stopped me before?" John could practically hear Rodney's eyes roll in his head.

During the short conversation Sheppard had powered up the escape pod and was now flying through open space. As he rounded the curve of the ship's hull the tear became visible along with the exposed corridors of deck 6. Lowering the nose of the craft he sped straight for the innards of the ship. He prayed that Teyla's message to the stranded crewmen had been heard. Rodney hadn't been sure whether he'd been able to divert enough power to the PA system of the cutoff decks.

The closer he came to his target corridor, the more he realized how insane this plan was. Crashing into an already crippled ship in the vain hope that someone had heard the message and been able to make it to the rescue point was crazy enough. Add to that the fact that the hull of the pod was about as likely to rupture when it hit the much denser hull of the Daedalus, as the Daedalus' skin was to puncture when the shoebox sized craft rammed it. And if the pod didn't hold together then he could kiss this rescue plan, along with his own ass, goodbye.

Spiraling toward the grey paneling of the Daedalus, John guessed he had about five seconds to impact. He closed his eyes and counted.

5… 4… 3…

He was thrown against the restraint harness wrapped around his chest, his internal organs pummeling his ribs in what felt like a sick kind of dance. Cracking open his eyes he surveyed the miniscule craft. There was no apparent damage, at least on the inside. Mentally he thanked whoever had designed it to be impact worthy. "Rodney-"

He was interrupted by a much relieved voice. "The emergency force field activated. You've got about two minutes before the emergency power dies."

Not waiting to be told the odds John cut off the radio. Sticking his head out into the stale air of the blocked corridor he wasn't able to discern more than obscure shapes through the smoke caused by his unorthodox entrance.

He shouted into the mist allowing the smoke to fall heavily onto his tongue which made him want to gag. "Anyone there? This is Colonel Sheppard!"

"Colonel, what in hell…" A figure stumbled into view. A burly marine John had seen on a few occasions."

"Is there anyone else with you Manheim?"

The man nodded his shaved head. The smoke was clearing and a small huddle of people could now be seen behind the marine. John counted each face and came up with nine. He kept himself from heaving a sigh of relief. They'd be able to make it back to the main part of the ship with that number. However that meant there were still people trapped on the ship somewhere, unreachable. At least he wouldn't have to choose.

"Come on, quickly! There's not a lot of time before these force fields give out. Everyone get in." He stood aside as those closest to the pod began to scramble through the hatchway.

Manheim, however, wasn't moving. Before John could ask what was wrong. Two people rounded the corner. One was leaning heavily on the other, her left leg was covered blood and the man supporting her didn't look too much better. From the lack of uniform John could tell that they were civilians, though he didn't recognize either of them.

The pair stopped short of the frozen marine. Manheim looked as if he had stopped breathing. Clearly he understood the situation as well as Sheppard did. There wouldn't be enough room in the life pod for everyone.

Moments stretched as the four pairs of eyes studied each other. Sheppard's brain was reaching a decision even as his body registered the sound of violent mechanical turmoil. It wasn't a noise he'd experienced before, but he didn't need Rodney to know exactly what was about to happen.

"Get on board." His voice was low, but firm. The civilians, who'd been glancing between John and the marine, moved quickly despite their hindered state and climbed into the pod.

"You too Manheim." Despite his best effort to keep his voice level he was sure that the other man could hear the quiver. "That's an order."

"No offense sir, but I won't be following that order." The marine was standing casually, arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head. An outside observer would have that that he was having an argument over whether or not the Lakers were going to make it to the playoffs.

"Damn it Manheim, get in!" Sheppard didn't bother trying to control his voice this time. He was losing his patience fast. He didn't enjoy altruistic actions when they caused the death of someone under his command.

"Sheppard, you better get out of there. These readings are going haywire. The force fields aren't going to last any longer." McKay was merely a persistent buzz in his ear.

"You better go Colonel." Manheim gestured to the pod. "Or we're all going to die here."

"There's room marine, just get in and we'll all leave."

This caused a smile to break across the man's face. "I've seen the inside of one of those, no way we're shutting the door with all of us in there and you know it." He paused, studying the expression on Sheppard's face. "What? You're the only one who's allowed to be self sacrificing?"

Before Sheppard could think of a response or even process the remark at all, the marine was charging him. Bodily he was lifted from the floor and shoved into the small compartment. He'd have hit the floor if there hadn't been the body of the injured civilian in the way.

Scrambling to his feet, ignoring the person he'd fallen on, Sheppard lunged for the door, but too late, as it slammed in his face. Through the small window of the hatch he could see Manheim grinning at him, obviously pleased at having outsmarted his superior officer. Sheppard caught the flash of the man's stunning white teeth until, his smile fell as the air was pulled from his body. The force fields had died.

"John, are you there? John?"

Teyla's concerned voice yanked him back to the present. "Yeah Teyla, I'm here." There was a grateful exhalation on the other end of the line. But Sheppard didn't bother to respond further.

Turning his focus to the task at hand Sheppard shoved himself, more forceful than necessary to the controls. He lifted off maneuvering back into open space. His destination was now the 302 bay. But he barely noticed when the craft touched down on the plated bay floor. His body had flown the craft, but his mind was somewhere in the vacuum of space.

TBC


	14. There's a Girl

**I know, I know, long time no write. I'm so awful at updating. Even when the chapter is done, it just takes forever to get online. Sorry about that. Don't worry though, this story will end.... eventually. Hope someone still remembers what is going on in the story! Enjoy!  
**

Rodney blinked rapidly in a vain attempt to rejuvenate his tired features. He wasn't sure how long he had spent on the Daedalus. Twelve hours, a day, possibly two? The minutes had all merged together until all he could remember was standing hunched over an engineering console, too tired to even notice that his neck would no longer extend properly. If he'd not been so busy he would have seen Keller, but as it was even sleep would have to wait. There was something more important which demanded his attention. Food.

He shoveled leftover fried rice and green beans onto a plate. It wouldn't have been his first choice in meals, but as it was sometime in the middle of the night, he could hardly insist on better food. Taking his tray quickly to the nearest table, he plopped down and immediately dove into his late night snack.

It hadn't taken long for Atlantis to send up reinforcements in the form of Jumpers filled with engineers who could assist in regaining power on the Daedalus. Those Jumpers had then shuttled back and forth between planet and ship alternating between bringing the Daedalus' crew to Atlantis and carrying up supplies. Rodney, himself had remained in orbit until Carter had ordered him and the rest of the team back down to the city for some rest. He had argued that he could sleep in spare crew quarters, but Sam had been adamant. She also made the infallible argument that there was no guarantee that he would actually stop working unless forced.

It wasn't just the dismal state of the ship that had McKay wishing he could still be up there, but the continued absence of Colonel Caldwell and numerous other crewmen. From Rodney's view there were three options. One: the missing people could still be on the ship, stranded somewhere on its many disjointed corridors. Two: they could have died during the firefight and lay somewhere in space or yet undiscovered on the ship. The third option was that they had somehow been transported off of the ship. The first was the most attractive and yet most implausible. Yes, there were still holes in the sensor grid, but Rodney was fairly sure that they had covered enough of the ship to have located everyone who was still alive. The second option was most likely except in the case of Caldwell as he had been alive and well when the Daedalus had escaped from their attacker. That only left the third explanation for his disappearance, that he had somehow been abducted sometime between the flight from the weapon planet and when the Daedalus had reached Atlantis. This was definitely cause for concern since the Daedalus had been in hyperspace for most of the journey except for that small window when the drive had gone offline. It did make sense however, because this was when Caldwell had last been seen. But, how could aliens board the ship, steal away the ranking officer, and disappear without anyone noticing? True it the ship had been damaged and nearly inoperable. Yet, the abductors would have had to know exactly where to find the colonel. It was all very disconcerting.

As Rodney stewed over the problem something was trigger in his memory. He'd been just about to tell Colonel Carter about an extremely important discovery before the plight of the Daedalus had pushed all other thoughts from his mind.

Glancing down he noticed the soggy green beans that were still uneaten on his plate. Shrugging he dumped his tray in a bin near the door on his way out. They hadn't been that appetizing anyway and what he had to tell Sam couldn't wait any longer.

As he got in the transporter Rodney wondered which spot on the map he should press. It only took him a second to make up his mind and two minutes later he was striding through the control room towards Carter's office.

It was probably his sigh of exasperation that alerted the blonde haired scientist to his presence. He'd known she'd be working, even when she ordered everyone else to go to bed.

"Rodney, I thought I told you to get some rest."

He resisted an eye roll. "And yet, here you are at two in the morning."

She met his remark with a narrowing of sky blue eyes. But she clearly decided to ignore the comment and instead asked him what he needed.

"I need to talk to you about Shep." And without preamble he slid into the chair across from her desk and explained.

"He is innocent and I've got irrefutable proof."

He was met with a surprised if a bit doubtful expression. McKay wondered if perhaps she didn't completely trust his judgment. The thought stung him, but he didn't have time to dwell over this possibility because she was asking how he had come to this conclusion.

"Before we got word about the Daedalus I'd been looking over the data from the experimental power stabilizer. There were some anomalous readings so I reran the computer simulation from before we began the test. Everything was normal. It was like I'd thought before, that Shep had booby trapped the device. Except-" He paused, possibly for effect. "It never made sense, why would Shep attack the people who were trying to help him, especially when he was still in the room that was going to explode. Then it occurred to me, we weren't working with a normal run of the mill Jumper, we'd been experimenting with the same Jumper that had been hit with the strange energy spike on the planet." He grinned that Rodney grin he got every time he knew something that no one else knew. "We'd plugged the stabilizer into a Jumper that was already essentially juiced. Like sticking a fork in a live circuit." He suddenly became grim faced. "And Shep had tried to get me to slow down so that we could run more tests and I accuse him…"

Sam reached across the desk to pat his arm reassuringly. "We all thought Shep was up to something Rodney. Don't blame yourself."

"But it's my fault. I'm the one who incriminated him in the first place. If I had just been thinking more clearly I would have known immediately what had happened, instead I jumped to conclusions and we threw an innocent man in the brig." He studied his plate, the food less appealing now that it had been five minutes ago. "I don't know if he'll forgive me for not trusting him."

"Let's go find out." She stood and motioned for Rodney to do the same.

There was no need to ask where they were headed, because Rodney had been sure that Carter would want to sort this out with Shep as soon as possible. And there was no time like the present. Rodney was surprised however, that Sam didn't ask to see his findings. She had thrown Shep in the brig based on his word and it seemed that she would let him back out on the same evidence. Rodney felt a slight swelling at the realization that she must trust him a great deal.

Excited as he was, Rodney way only vaguely aware of Carter talking to Colonel Sheppard over the radio, asking him to meet them in the brig. Late as it was, Rodney was surprised when, stepping out of the transporter, he was met with the image of Sheppard leaning absently against the nearest wall. McKay was sure, however, that this appearance of calm was truly only a façade and that inside Sheppard was curious to know what was going on. Carter however, ignored his immediate questions and led the two men down the hallway toward their unlikely prisoner.

The guard on duty appraised them with a raised eyebrow as the two colonels and McKay drew into view. Truthfully it was of a bit of an odd time for anyone to be visiting the prisoner, let alone Atlantis' top scientific minds.

"You're relived airman. There won't be any more need for a guard."

The man relaxed, the tension falling from his limbs as he responded, "Yes ma'am" and made his way toward the transporter and the main part of the city.

The brief exchange with the guard must have been sufficient to wake the sleeping Shep. The man, who had been laying on his back just moments ago, was now scrambling to his feet as his visitors came closer.

"Good evening or is it morning yet?" The man seemed to be at ease and with a shock, McKay noticed that Shep was displaying the same façade the 'real' Sheppard was now exuding. He wondered what could have happened in the past few days to make such a profound change in the mathematician.

"We know it wasn't your fault." Rodney blurted eliciting a sharp sign from Sam. Clearly that was not the way she had wished to start the interchange.

Shep, on the other hand, beamed uncontrollably, the fake nonchalance falling apart as quickly as it had appeared. So Shep wasn't good at hiding his emotions after all. This thought soothed Rodney's feelings much to his own surprise.

"Would you mind explaining what's going on now?" Sheppard asked staring from Carter to McKay and back again.

Sam had her mouth only half open before Rodney dived into a simplified explanation of how he had come to find that the fault of the Jumper explosion lay entirely in the Jumper itself and not in the hands of the man who had designed the power stabilizer. While talking he had dismantled the cell's energy barriers and was in the process of opening the door when he was stopped by a firm hand on his bicep.

"Slow down there McKay."

The aforementioned scientist glanced up at his team leader. Mistrust was brewing behind those dark eyes and he knew that before Shep was to be trusted more proof must be shown. Fortunately, Colonel Carter outranked Sheppard and as she had already agreed to Shep's release Rodney was allowed to finish freeing the prisoner. She did, however, insist on McKay writing a full report on his findings with the overloaded Jumper and its adverse reaction to the power stabilizer.

This did little to dampen McKay's spirit as he was caught up in an unabashed hug by the former inmate. Shep clapped the astrophysicist on the back fondly as he released him, "I knew you would figure it out Rodney! But what took you so long?" From what the observers could tell the man harbored no ill feelings about being locked up unjustly.

Nonetheless, Rodney found himself spluttering a poorly formed apology, then adding, "It's a, uh, long story. I'll tell you in the morning."

XXXX

For the second time in a week John found himself being awoken by a small voice issuing from his bedside table, or more precisely, Carter's voice coming from his radio. Cursing he fumbled for the small electronic piece, made more difficult by the fact that he had yet to open his eyes.

It wasn't all that unusual to be woken up at all hours of the night when you were second in command of a base in a galaxy different from your home planet. But that didn't make it any more pleasant when you were roused out of a dream about beating Tiger Woods at golf.

"Sheppard." He muttered, not even bothering to lace his voice with scorn, deciding it wasn't worth the effort.

"Sorry, John but something important has come up. Please meet myself and Rodney outside the brig." The fatigue plaguing Sheppard eased into a dull throb. Obviously something important was going and on and Shep was most likely right in the middle of it. Was it possible that the man had escaped? No, Carter would had said so right away instead of the cryptic "something has come up" he had received. Whatever it was, it was urgent, just not urgent enough to demand an explanation immediately. Sliding out of bed, he put on his boots and not taking the time to change he sprinted for the transporter.

Upon arriving at the designated location, he found that he had beaten Carter to the scene. It was only a matter of moments before the transporter doors opened releasing a tired, yet exuberant McKay, and a somewhat frazzled looking Sam Carter. He couldn't blame the woman's appearance, though. If he was in charge of this crazy city, he would be slightly more than frazzled on a daily basis.

"What's going on?" It was a general question, one which was completely ignored by both scientists as they started down the hallway. Having no choice but to follow, Sheppard sank into step behind them.

Shep, waking up at the arrival on the little group, was running a hand over his long, unkempt hair. Locking eyes with his double, John experienced a familiar jolt somewhere in his gut. Even after the days he had spent with the other man, he still felt unsettled when he found himself staring into his own face, however bearded it may be. The colonel was forcefully reminded of his last encounter with Shep; an interrogation that hadn't gone as planned.

_It was completely clear that Shep was responsible for the explosion and resulting loss of life that had accompanied it. Sheppard hadn't come to interrogate his double to determine his innocence, he came to force a confession. The obstinacy with which Shep maintained his blamelessness was infuriating. John _knew_ that his double was responsible… the accusation had come from McKay himself. A man who had many flaws, one of which was being insufferably correct at all times. Stalking the cage as a lion does its prey, Sheppard accused his double of not only causing the explosion, but deliberately putting everyone in Atlantis in danger._

Monitoring his caged self, John wondered why he was down here with Sam and Rodney in the wee hours of the morning, when the answer spouted out of McKay's mouth the way a whale relieves its blowhole.

"We know it wasn't your fault."

As the astrophysicist was addressing Shep, there could be no doubt about what he was referring. Sheppard turned angrily to his companions demanding an explanation.

"It was the power stabilizer. It did exactly what it was designed to do. Convert excess energy into accessible energy for the craft. But the Jumper we installed it in was already loaded with power and since that energy had no outlet, it well…" Rodney stopped short. He was in the process of releasing the door controls when Sheppard reached out to grab the scientist's arm.

"Slow down there McKay." John pleaded, knowing he had absolutely no leverage with which to insist that Shep remain in custody. Especially since this was the same explanation Shep had given a few days ago.

_The prisoner stood resolute, desperate. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I wouldn't hurt anyone here on purpose." A glint of understanding and grief washed over his bearded face before he dropped his head as if ashamed. Then the man began babbling in an enlightened sort of confusion, until he was able to focus and explain. "It was the power stabilizer. I'd designed it for a normal Jumper and we tested it in the overloaded Jumper because it was already in the lab. It was convenient and Rodney was in a hurry-"_

_The mention of McKay flared John's temper and he erupted into a barely contained diatribe. "You don't know any of us and yet, you walk in and act like you belong here. You act like you… like you care…"_

_It was a whispered admission of "I do care" which caused John to reconsider. There was something in the man's voice that was hard to ignore.._

"_Can't you understand what this is like for me? My best friend died less than three months ago and suddenly I get dragged to an alternate reality where he's alive and safe. Every time I look at him I'm looking at a ghost… but he's real. Actually real."_

"_There's more isn't there?" The anger was melting away as John began to put the pieces into place. He knew that Shep was hiding something, but for the first time he considered that maybe that secret had nothing to do with the destroyed lab. That's when Shep had admitted the one thing that could change everything._

"_I loved him." _

_John swallowed. He ducked his head trying to hide his shock. "Oh." The biting doubt had been the distant sounds of movement that you hear when you're alone in bear country, that admission was the bear suddenly standing in your path._

_Shep broke into a huge grin and chuckled. "No, not like that. I mean I loved him like my brother. I am his daughter's godfather after all."_

_Sheppard's head whipped up so fast his neck cracked. "Excuse me? You never mentioned that the other Rodney had a daughter."_

_The man behind the bars was sullen again. I didn't want Rodney to know. I know Annie's not actually his daughter, but I didn't want him to worry. Even though I'm not there at the moment, it's not like the whole of Atlantis isn't looking after her. But if you had seen my Rodney around her, you'd understand."_

_So the alternate Rodney was a father. And he'd died three months ago. John felt his heart twinge._

"_She's nearly three years old." He smiled stupidly, the same smile he'd seen new fathers wear every time they looked at their children. "Her birthday is in a couple weeks. Since the day she was born Rodney never let her out of his sight except when he was on missions. When Lomani died it broke his heart, but little Annie immediately became the center of his world. He even let her sleep in the lab when he was working. And then barely a year later he was killed." His tone changed from nostalgic to determined unexpectedly. "I need to get back. Losing two parents is more than any child should bear. If I don't get back…" He punched at the invisible wall between himself and Sheppard, barely flinching as electricity shot through it. "You've got to help me get back."_

"Do you know something that we don't Colonel?" Carter asked, obviously trying to figure out why Sheppard would want to keep an innocent man detained.

'Yeah, maybe too much,' John thought to himself. But he decided to keep his mouth shut about Shep's latest admission. He wasn't entirely sure why he wasn't quite ready to let the man go yet. There was still the possibility that Shep had known what would happen when the power stabilizer was plugged into the overloaded Jumper and he had been counting on that as a way to claim his ignorance after the explosion. Whatever, doubts he was feeling since the last interview had faded by now. Now that he wasn't staring into his own distressed features as he listened to the man who was supposedly the last vestige of a parent to a little girl who may or may not exist. How did Sheppard know that this Annie wasn't something Shep had dreamed up while incarcerated as a way to earn some more sympathy? Finally he answered, "No, I've just got a feeling."

Perhaps Carter had discerned the direction of his thoughts on his features, because she hesitated before responding. "Sorry John but we can't keep him locked up on a hunch.

"Yeah, I know." And he released McKay from his grip.

"But I'd still like a full report on your readings from the Jumper, Rodney." Carter added.

The scientist grumbled something about command structure as he released the door controls. No sooner was the door opened when Shep caught Rodney in a hug no less enthusiastic than the one he'd given the man when he first laid eyes on him.


	15. Reason to Believe

"Do you mind telling me about this hunch Colonel?"

Sheppard and Carter were walking back from the brig, having left Shep and McKay to reconnoiter. Sam knew she had been quick to push the blame of the lab accident onto Shep, and perhaps the midnight jail spring had been a way to make up for that initial presumption. But that didn't mean she wasn't still mindful that Shep could in some way be a security risk. However, she still had a hard time imaging that Shep would ever do something to hurt anyone on Atlantis, he was, after all, the exact duplicate of the most trusted man in the city. But, her personal feelings aside she couldn't ignore her chief security officer's gut when it came to the safety of those she commanded.

"It's something that Shep told me right after I interrogated him." Sheppard had stopped walking, and he dropped his voice as though afraid of being overheard, even though they were still deep in the bowels of Atlantis and it was barely three in the morning.

Carter knit her eyebrows together, eager to hear the news.

"He told me that his Rodney had a kid and that he was the godfather. And since the other Rodney's dead and the mother had died sometime before, Shep's the only family that little girl has left. That was his explanation for not wanting to screw up any chance for us sending him back home."

Confused, Sam asked, "But wouldn't that explain why he's so attached to Rodney?"

"It's too convenient. It's too -" he shook his head as if searching for the word "pathetic. An orphan with only Shep to rely on… of course we're going to feel sorry for him. That's been his angle the whole time, a sob story of gigantic proportions." His expression was clouded, but Sam could guess what was going on behind the mask. John was not the type of man to ignore his initial instincts and he had been saying since Shep arrived that he had a bad feeling. And sure enough the base had experienced accident after accident. But, she sighed inwardly, that wasn't really that atypical for Atlantis.

"I'm not suggesting that we let him off free and clear. We can't have him running loose all over the city, but since there isn't any concrete proof that he can't be trusted I don't feel comfortable keeping him locked up. I'd like you to assign a man to watch Shep. Obviously Rodney will be with him most of the time, but-"

"Rodney's not exactly an objective observer." John finished for her. "I'll watch him myself whenever possible. There's something going on here that we're missing and I don't like it." He scowled, an expression that Sam had come to recognize. He wasn't going to rest until he came to the bottom of this mystery. She just hoped that no one else was going to get hurt before he was able to succeed.

XXXX

The next morning in the commissary, before Rodney had even had a chance to eat his bowl of oatmeal, he became aware of a looming shape above him. Looking up he was met with a scowling Sheppard.

"Good morning." He offered as cheerily as possible. He knew that the little stunt with Shep last night was bound to irk John. It appeared as if he were correct. Although, he'd really done nothing wrong, Rodney knew that John would have preferred that he come to him first rather than going straight to Carter. But as it were, Carter happened to be the one who was actually in a position to release Sheppard's double, with the added bonus that she was _awake_ at the time. But try telling Sheppard that.

"So Shep was pretty grateful to you last night, wasn't he?"

The other man asked, plopping down into a chair on the other side of the table. He had only a cup of coffee with him which Rodney took as a bad sign. Usually the colonel had a large appetite in the morning and if he was skipping his regular scrambled eggs there was definitely something wrong. The question also caught Rodney off guard. But it was the tone rather than the words that got his mind going. Sheppard sounded almost as if… but he couldn't be, could he?

"I had just let him out of the brig. Sometimes people get thanked for that." He waited for a response from John, but he only continued to sip his coffee. A few awkward minutes passed before, mercifully, Teyla joined the silent pair.

"Good morning." The Athosian seated herself at John's right. Most likely she noticed his sullen demeanor, but decided to ignore it. She positioned her own bowl of oatmeal in front of her. The oatmeal on base was often the only thing edible in the morning despite, perhaps the muffins. "I heard that you were able to prove Shep's innocence? Where is he this morning?"

"I bet he's still sleeping. The brig isn't exactly the most restful place on Atlantis." Rodney responded, not missing John's deepening scowl.

Teyla nodded understandingly. She'd spent her own amount of time in prison thanks to various alien species, most notably the Replicators.

"I was going to swing by to pick him up after breakfast. I need to go up to the Daedalus. There's still a lot of work to be done."

Sheppard broke his silence, "I've told Lorne to fly you up. Notify him before you leave."

"What? Now I need a babysitter?" McKay grumbled. But as he said it, he realized what Sheppard was implying. "Still don't trust him, huh? Despite how he helped us get off that snow planet. No matter what he says; even though he's you… you can't get over it, can you?" He was ranting now and attracting stares of the people at nearby tables.

"Get over what McKay? That fact that he nearly blew you up?" John's voice was even, but his tone was aggressive.

"No, the fact that you think I like him more than I like you, that I'd rather spend time with Shep. Well, you're right." Rodney was so mad he didn't care that the entire commissary was staring at him now. Grabbing a muffin and a banana off his plate, he stormed out of the commissary, leaving a bewildered room behind him.

XXXX

Major Lorne was a man of action. Give him a P-90 and a Wraith and he'd gladly due his duty, but put him on a half dead hulk of a ship drifting in space and ask him to watch over two science geeks, he'd rather take the Wraith with his bare hands.

"I never thought I'd find something even worse than doing paperwork." Lorne complained for the tenth time.

"Technically, it's not paper." Shep smirked cheekily at him.

Lorne merely glowered and resumed his silent position leaning back in the chair. Sheppard had asked all of the security officers to keep a look out for any unusual behavior from Shep. Lorne had taken up shift about an hour ago and all he had witnessed was his target and McKay reading over the Daedalus' security logs. Apparently they were looking for anything abnormal, trying to find an indication of what might have happened to the ship.

"Rodney, take a look at this." Shep was pointing to the screen and Evan, from sheer boredom, leaned in to see what it was. There was an incomplete line in the data entry. He probably wouldn't have even noticed there was anything there except that a word was cut off in the middle. Reading further down, he noticed another fragment of a word. He supposed it could be a computer malfunction. The log had been entered after Daedalus had been attacked. But it could be just the clue that the two scientists were looking for.

"Could be a malfunction." McKay suggested, mimicking Evan's own thought.

"But there are multiple errors. I think we should at least run a couple recovery algorithms on these sections, just to be sure."

"Yeah, I agree. Make sure you don't miss the DLMA."

"Wouldn't _dream_ of it." Shep responded, causing them both to break into laughter.

Lorne shook his head in bewilderment. _Geeks._

"Aha, here it comes." Rodney announced as words came scrolling across the screen. "Good work Shep."

The two men studied the uncovered text for a few moments before there was a loud exclamation from McKay. "Look at this, here!"

Intrigued Evan leaned forward once again, trying to see what was causing the commotion. But all he could see was random strings of letters.

"Looks like it might be an introduced virus. That could-"

"Definitely explain why we didn't notice it until now."

Both scientists had now worked themselves into a frenzy and as they worked Lorne tuned out their techno babble to study their interactions. McKay was obviously in command as he told Shep what to do and he cut in whenever he felt like to tell him that he was doing it wrong. But Shep took each criticism quietly and in turn he would gently point out to the blustering man his own mistakes. The ease in which the pair worked surprised the major. He had never witnessed someone work so well in McKay's presence before.

Evan had his own suspicious about Shep and his true agenda, but as he surveyed him it seemed unlikely the man was a good enough liar to pull off such an elaborate stunt. Even though he looked like Colonel Sheppard it was harder to imagine someone who was more opposite to the quiet, strong leader Lorne had come to admire. The colonel was reserved and controlled; Shep on the other hand, was enthusiastic in his actions and poured out emotion openly. But after knowing the colonel for a number of years, he was aware that the military man did have a deep spring of emotion and was capable of passionate acts when he allowed for it. He expected that perhaps the alternate reality visitor in front of him was not too far from man Sheppard could have become if he'd had a different parentage and eschewed the military.

The name Caldwell brought Lorne back into the present.

"- and he and the others could have been abducted from the ship without any of the instruments even noticing that there had been an intruder." McKay was saying animatedly.

"Mighty brilliant, you have to admit, but how would-"

"Are you saying that Colonel Caldwell and the rest of our missing crewman were taken forcibly off the ship after the firefight?" Evan cut in over Shep's question.

Spinning in his chair the astrophysicist met him with his usual arrogant manner. "That's exactly what I'm saying. And if we were able to work in peace for a little while I bet we could even tell you exactly when it happened."

Ignoring the jab at interrupting them, Evan continued, "We know it was some time after the Daedalus lost hyperdrive because he was on his way to engineering when he disappeared."

"Yes, but if we can find out exactly _where_ on the ship he was when he was grabbed we might be able to figure out how the aliens got onboard and were able to leave without anyone noticing." McKay was feigning patience now.

"I bet they just took anyone they ran into. Maybe they were raiders who seeing the dead ship decided it would be a nice place to ransack. They may not even have thought anyone was on board and when they ran into Caldwell they decided he'd make a nice prize as well."

McKay responded with a snort. "And the commander of the vessel just happened to be at the exact place they board? Not likely. The colonel must have been their target. They were waiting to get him away from witnesses. Who knows how long they were out there waiting before they made their move."

"You're forgetting McKay that the Daedalus was in hyperspace almost up until the point that Caldwell was abducted. How would they know where the Colonel was?"

"Well, they could have gotten lucky and he was alone when they ran into the Daedalus."

"It just as easily could have been raiders then." Lorne pressed, feeling his idea was no less far out that Rodney's."

"I don't see how any of this is going to help Caldwell. What we need to do is find out how these people got on board in the first place." Shep sounded so much like his double in voice and manner that Lorne nearly started. It was exactly the same thing the colonel would have said had he been present.

"You're right. We need to get back to Atlantis to let Carter know what we've found. Then I need to talk to Abbot. She's pretty good at-" he stopped, "I mean to Cho. She'll be able to help." He lapsed into a morose silence leaving Shep to explain.

"We need to organize a group to search along the most likely paths Caldwell could have taken from the bridge to engineering. When we find the entry point we can figure out who or what was able to breach the Daedalus."

"Jumpers could help with that. Some of our men are excellent pilots."

"Yourself included sir."

Lorne was taken aback by the title. He hadn't noticed Shep call anyone else on base 'sir' before. Shep must have been reading his mind because he explained.

"No one told you that you were the commanding officer on Atlantis in my reality, did they?"

"No, they didn't…" He grinned. Sheppard probably hadn't wanted him to get a big head. Well, he was in for it now. Lorne swelled slightly, "Imagine that."

"Actually it's a little strange to see you take orders from Sheppard."

Yeah, Lorne was definitely going to mention that to the colonel the next time he saw him. "How did I do for myself?"

"Oh, you're the best sir, everyone on Atlantis looks up to you for support. It's like you were born to lead." Shep dropped his head in a gesture of bashfulness. "Or at least that's how my Colonel Lorne is."

"Colonel, eh? I like the sound of that." Evan stood a little straighter.

"Oh, please." McKay seemed to have come of his stupor. He pushed past his companions and made his way down the corridor. "Are you two coming or what?"

XXXX

"Take a look at this." Ronon pointed at what appeared to be grey slime. "Is this supposed to be here?"

He and Sheppard had been scouring one specific hallway of the Daedalus for what seemed like ages. Examining every piece of debris and shifting through mounds of rubble in an attempt to find any clue as to what could have taken the ten missing crewmembers from the ship without anyone noticing.

John moved closer to inspect the slime. It was spread thinly across one section of wall and as it was nearly colorless, he was surprised that Ronon had been able to spot it at all. Picking up a small sheet of shorn metal from the floor he scraped off a sample of the stuff. Sniffing it, he winced, revolted. "Phew, smells kind of like wet dog, except stronger."

"Do you think that stuff could be from a ship docking?"

"No kind of ship I know. But it definitely didn't come from the Daedalus." Sheppard peered at the wall. On the other side was pure outer space. However, there wasn't a single crack in the siding that would suggest there had been a hole there that would have let aliens enter and then leave again. But that didn't mean much. For all he knew, the goopy material was ultra high-tech sealant that could seal giant holes without leaving a trace. He wondered if there was something on the outside that would give them a clue.

He touched the radio in his ear. "Lorne, this is Sheppard. Come in."

There was a slight crackle. "Lorne here."

"Pull around to section 4B alpha. And see if you can find anything strange on your side. There's some sort of residue on the wall here."

"Can do sir." Before the line went dead, Sheppard heard the whir of the Jumper's engine as Lorne moved it into position.

They didn't have to wait long before the major responded on the radio again. "Where exactly am I looking?"

"About halfway between corridors…" He paused for Ronon to check their exact location.

"Fifteen and sixteen." The Satedan filled in.

"Just a moment. Wait. I'm pulling up the magnification." Over the radio there was a whistle of amazement. "There's something alright. Never would have noticed if I didn't know exactly where to look.

"What do you see Major?"

"Looks like someone cut their way in and then welded the metal back together. Why would they do that?"

Ronon, who had been inspecting the slime, answered, "Maybe they didn't want us to find out they'd been here."

"Whoever _they_ are." Sheppard replied dispirited. After Carter had told him that Rodney and Shep had found evidence of alien tampering with the Daedalus he had been pissed off. He was angry that some malignant force had deliberately stolen away his fellow soldiers. But as Ronon and he began to traverse the interior of the ship, he'd started to hope that the scientists had been wrong. Maybe the missing crew members had been killed in action and their bodies had yet to be recovered. As terrible as it was to think of them as dead, he wasn't sure that being alive and tortured by an alien race with god knows what kind of purpose was preferable. He'd almost begun to hope that there were no aliens after all. But here was the proof and he'd have to chalk another one up for McKay and his double.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about another long wait. Again. I will finish this I promise. I'm just not sure when... Thanks for the encouragement from a few of you out there. I really appreciate it!


	16. Whatever It Is

**A/N: Hi everyone! I apologize for the incredibly long hiatus this story has been on. I promised myself I would not publish more until I was finished writing it.. but as I've got only a few chapters left to write I'm breaking my promise. This chapter will be followed shortly by another four that I have already written and only need to be proofread. The last few will be following not too long after that. So without further ado - Enjoy!  
**

"What do you mean 'slime'?" Carter sounded interested after he told her about the grey goo Ronon and he had found on the Daedalus.

"I don't know. It's slime, like slimy" John looked at Ronon for help who merely shrugged, "slime. Lorne says that from the outside it looks like someone used it to weld the hull back together after cutting out a giant hole."

"Do you think you think this could be the point of entry for these hypothetical aliens?"

"Not so hypothetical anymore. The size of the hole they cut is definitely large enough for a space ship to dock with the Daedalus and sneak out our people. It looks like McKay's theory might actually hold some water." John hated to admit this last piece, especially so soon after Rodney had exploded at him in the mess hall about being jealous of Shep. As if he could be jealous of some guy that jumped at every sound in the bushes, could barely point a gun, and actually _liked_ prime-not prime.

Carter's voice over the radio cut off his internal diatribe. "Okay, after a science team takes a look at this _slime _I'd like all of you to come back down to Atlantis so we can discuss how to proceed."

"Will do. Sheppard out."

As soon as the connection was severed Rodney's came out of nowhere. "Thanks for letting me know that I was right."

At first John thought that he was talking over the radio until he realized that the voice was coming from behind him. He spun to see McKay and Shep walking towards him from the starboard side of the ship. The smug expression that John had learned so well was now gracing the astrophysicist's face. Of course, McKay would have been listening on the radio for any kind of information about the theorized invaders and when John had told Lorne his position on the ship, Rodney had also come to check it out.

"So this is the stuff, huh?" He asked, poking at the grey slime on the wall gently with the tip of one finger. He made a face, "Smells a little like a wet dog."

"That's what Sheppard thought too." Ronon supplied, shocking John slightly. Honestly, sometimes the Satedan was so quiet you forgot he was there.

"I'll grab some samples and then we should contact that science team. Maybe we should also get someone outside, to get a few samples from the outer hull. Figuring out how this stuff works would be a huge benefit. Can you imagine the applications of something that will bond metal back together leaving almost no discernible trace and didn't require welding? I mean-"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves McKay. We don't even know for sure that's what it does. For all we know it could be from anything."

"From what Colonel– I mean Major Lorne has described, this is likely its exact purpose." Shep added, backing up Rodney.

Even though Sheppard had already figured as much, Shep's comment irritated him. Didn't this guy know that he was already on John's bad side? Violent movement from Rodney caused Sheppard to stare at him. It looked like he was scratching a very bad itch. "What are you doing?"

"I can't" he scratched again "get my hand off my" he jerked his hand "shirt". And when Sheppard looked closely he could see that the finger Rodney had stuck into the slime was now firmly attached to his side, or more precisely the side of his t-shirt.

"I guess it works on more than metal." Ronon noted as Rodney held his shirt with his free hand and tugged viciously away from his body with the other. But no matter how hard Rodney pulled, the tip of his finger didn't detach from the fabric.

"Why is it that you are always touching things?" John was only slightly ashamed by how much Rodney's predicament amused him.

XXXX

By the time, the science team arrived and the four men navigated their way back through the maze of depressurized sections of the Daedalus and flew back down to Atlantis nearly an hour had passed. Rodney's hand was still stubbornly attached to his clothing so that he was forced to hold his arm at an odd angle. As soon as they had exited the Jumper Rodney had made a move for the infirmary, but Sheppard had held him back saying that as long as his finger didn't hurt it could wait and that they couldn't spare the time for the Keller to look at him. But, Rodney knew that this was John's own way at getting back at him, at least on some level, for yelling at him in the commissary. The colonel had been acting normal, but there was no way the man had forgiven that not so little scene or Rodney going over his head by freeing Shep. As they entered the control room Rodney saw that both Teyla and Sam were waiting anxiously.

Upon seeing the scientist's strange pose, Teyla asked, "Are you alright Rodney? Is there something wrong with your arm?"

"Yes, actually." He replied, shooting a death glare at Sheppard, "I'm stuck to my shirt and" Sheppard was returning the glare and suddenly feeling that this wasn't the time to piss off the colonel more, he deflated and finished. "-it's nothing. Just some alien goo."

Carter shot him a confused look, but didn't ask more questions. She was clearly far more concerned with what they had found on the Daedalus. She led everyone into the briefing room saying, "The science team just reported in. Apparently, the slime is made up of a polymer of carbon nitrate and steel. They also reported that there are microscopic marks on the hull consistent with a ship docking."

"Do they know what kind of ship?" Sheppard asked eagerly, leaning forward in his chair.

Sam shook her head, "Not yet."

"I'll bet its Wraith." Shep spoke, causing everyone to turn and stare at him in wonder. He blushed slightly at the sudden attention. "I mean, the Wraith are probably the ones in control on this weapon planet so they are the more likely culprits. It would be too much of a coincidence for it to be some other alien species out to get the Daedalus on their short flight back here."

McKay stole a glance at John to see what he thought of this logic. He was in the same tilted forward position as before, his face impassive, but somehow McKay suspected that he agreed. Just then he had an overwhelming need to scratch his nose and lifting his right arm, he found it still stuck to his shirt he was forced to switch to his left. He hoped he'd a have a chance to get this slime off soon. The awkward position his arm was in was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Teyla was nodding her consent when Rodney looked back up from his examination of his fore finger. "I agree that it is probably the same people who attacked the Daedalus and kidnapped the crew. However, we do not know that it was the Wraith. They are not capable of boarding ships in such a manner."

"Yeah," Ronon began, "they aren't usually that smart."

"But they do have the ulterior motive to want one of our ranking officers. After all, they do really want to destroy Atlantis." Rodney commented. He wasn't convinced it was the Wraith either, but for some reason he felt the need to back up Shep's theory.

"Speculation is not going to give us any answers. However, I agree that the two incidents are connected. I'd like to take another look at that weapon planet. Let's get all the information we can on it." Carter said. She had been pacing back and forth across the room and finally eased into her customary seat.

"How exactly are we supposed to do that? We sent a MALP and they fried it, we sent a ship and they blew it up then stole our people." Sheppard's face remained devoid of emotion, but the sharp edge to his voice told volumes. "I doubt that a Jumper would fare better."

If Sam was taken aback by John's retort she didn't show it. Instead she turned to Shep, "How did you get through the gate in your reality again?"

"Rodney had undergone accelerated evolution. He just jammed their weapons and we walked right through." Shep grinned morosely at the memory as the present Rodney's stomach gave a now familiar jolt.

"What if we could recreate that event?" Sheppard had nearly bolted to his feet as he said it. He wore a more familiar John expression now, it was hopeful.

McKay couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No thanks. Nearly dying once from that device was more than enough for me. You do it."

"Okay. I will."

John's response wasn't what Rodney had been expecting, but even as he opened his mouth to protest Sam spoke. "That won't we necessary Colonel. All we need is a little diversion."

This piqued Ronon's interest. "What kind of diversion?"

But Rodney already knew what Carter had in mind before she answered. What they needed was to send something else through the gate ahead of a cloaked Jumper so that they wouldn't arouse suspicion by dialing in without something apparently coming through. The most logical choice for this diversion would be something useful to them, just like a -"

"-UAV." Sam finished, unwittingly completing McKay's internal monologue.

"We should probably add extra shielding. With any luck we might be able to get it through their weapons fire and it might actually give us a head's up to what we are dealing with." Shep supplied.

He was clearly feeling like one of the team at the moment and Rodney wondered if Sam would let him come with them on this rescue mission. Sheppard's fears aside, he was the only one who had any idea what was on that planet, even if it was in a different reality. He was about to bring up this point when he noticed John's expression as he studied his double. The military man wasn't likely to allow Shep's presence on the mission without a fight and Rodney had the feeling he might have a better chance of changing his mind if he talked to Sheppard in private.

"That's a good idea, Shep. How soon can you complete the adjustments McKay?"

"It should only a take a few hours. We can be ready by tomorrow morning. But there is a little problem I would like to take care of first." He indicated his bent arm with his free hand. There was a muffled sound from that the other side of the conference table that sounded suspiciously like Ronon laughing. However, the Satedan's amusement did little to quash Rodney's urge to go to the infirmary and as soon as Sam had dismissed them with orders to be ready for the rescue tomorrow morning with the provision that they did find evidence linking the docking ship with the weapon planet, he made his way to the doctors to find out if they could do anything about his alien slime problem.

XXXX

Colonel Sheppard had never backed down so easily after one of his plans had been questioned. As Ronon watched Sheppard leave the conference room, he knew that the man was not going to just sit on his hands until tomorrow when the plan that Carter and McKay had concocted was weak at best. Even if they could get through the gate by sending a UAV through right ahead of a cloaked Jumper, what were they going to do once they got there? They had absolutely no intel on where the prisoners would be kept captive or what kind of defenses the kidnappers had. No, there was no way that Sheppard would sit around and do nothing. But Ronon also knew that directly questioning John wouldn't yield much information, so instead he decided to follow him.

After tracking the colonel for a few minutes, it became very clear that he wasn't on his way to anywhere on the base that he normally went. Every time that Ronon hoped he would turn down a familiar hallway, his target would veer onto an unsuspected trajectory. The runner merely hoped that he wouldn't take a transported, because it would be very difficult to follow him into one of those without letting John know what he was doing. But, of course, after one more surprising turn, the Colonel walked into a transporter and let the door slide shut behind him. The runner had been trailing too far behind to even hope to have squeezed in before the metal walls slid shut to block his entrance.

Luckily, Ronon wasn't easily discouraged and when the transporter returned to its previous position, he stepped inside. There was no way of knowing which of those little glowing icons on the map Sheppard had indicated, so Ronon took an educated guess, picking one of the more isolated parts of the city, and pressed. Stepping outside of the closet-sized space, he picked a direction, left, and sprinted, looking down each corridor as he did so. There was no sign of Sheppard, however, so he spun back around and ran down past the transporter again, this time going right. As he sped past a passage to the left he glimpsed a human form turn down another corridor. Maneuvering to follow, he slowed to a silent jog and reestablished the proper following distance. When the colonel took one more turn, Ronon began to realize just what Sheppard had in mind. He found that he was correct as the passageway opened into an antechamber housing one very familiar looking device; the Ancient's evolution accelerometer as Rodney had so appropriately dubbed it.


	17. Soft Boiled

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

Sheppard turned at the sudden voice behind him. He had been so intent on accomplishing his goal he hadn't noticed that the Satedan had followed him into the depths of the city. "Ronon, I'm sure about what I want to do. I'm sure that the only reason the alternate reality succeeded was because they had a super-evolved Rodney on their side." He was trying to ignore the fact that the alternate McKay had died in the attempt and his own McKay had nearly died from the machine's effects. Right now all he really wanted to concentrate on was how to get his people back home. He'd deal with the consequences of his decision later.

"This is a different reality than Shep's. We might be able to take whatever is on that planet without supernatural help. We don't even know that Caldwell and the others are even on that planet. You will have sacrificed your life for nothing."

For a moment John was stayed by the Satedan's reasoning, but the moment was quickly lost. "I'm not sacrificing myself, Ronon. McKay figured out how to reverse it, right? Besides, he could read _minds_. How cool is that?" Sheppard knew he was being overly nonchalant about potential death, but suicide missions were kind of his thing.

Ronon was clearly not fooled by the act, he knew John well enough to understand that the man knew the risks and was making an informed decision. One that had a good chance of saving everyone else while getting himself killed. "There's no guarantee that the machine won't just kill you instantly."

Sheppard grinned broadly at his teammate. "I know. But it could also turn me into a superhero. Then we can just go to the planet, save everybody and come back and reverse this thing." He turned back to the console and activated the screen above the device.

"I'm not going to let you do this Sheppard." Ronon's body was tensed like a coiled spring.

John's fingers just found the activation button as Ronon surged forward. There was half a millisecond when he thought that nothing would happen, when he would have to accept defeat, and then he was being electrocuted. He somehow registered an oddly smoky smell, reminiscent of burning hair, before his mind shut down and he sensed nothing else.

XXXX

"Sheppard!"

For some reason he was laying on the ground and it wasn't at all clear how he had gotten there. Slowly spreading his fingers he felt the coarse floor sprawled out beneath him. Yep, it was definitely the ground. _Please_ _just not let this be an alien invasion scenario_. He kept his eyes tightly shut.

"Sheppard?"

_That sounded like Ronon. That was a really good sign. At least he had someone friendly to explain what had happened._ Or at least he hoped he was friendly. You never knew with aliens, they could impersonate anybody, or brainwash, or mutate, or mimic. Hell, maybe it was just a recording of Ronon's voice. Cracking an eyelid he found the runner's face studying him as if he were checking for injuries. _Nope, not a recording_. Behind his friend's head he could see the Ancient device and his memory washed back over him.

Oh yeah.

"Do you know what I'm thinking?" It was a joke, but Ronon looked pretty pissed. John knew the runner would get over it though when the other man realized he was fine.

"I'm one stubborn son of a bitch?" John guessed. He reached one arm up letting Ronon bodily yank him to his feet.

The Satedan smiled slightly, "Yeah, something like that."

He hadn't let go of John's arm which the colonel was grateful for as he felt himself sway slightly. He hoped the queasiness would leave soon, because he had some important errands to run. He didn't think that it would help his case much if he puked all over Carter's office as he tried to explain how great an asset to the team he would be when he could manipulate objects with his mind.

"Perhaps we should go to the infirmary and let them take a look at you?" Ronon suggested and even though his voice had gone up at the end as if it were a question Sheppard knew it was anything but.

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

As the two men approached the transporter, Ronon half carrying John the entire way there, Sheppard decided he had better bite the bullet and inform Colonel Carter about what he had done before she heard about it from the doctor. Opening a channel to the colonel he asked her to meet him in the sickbay and left it there. He didn't need everyone in Atlantis knowing what he had done, at least not just yet.

When they reached the infirmary, Doctor Keller immediately ran over to them asking what had happened. Sheppard saw that Carter was already there waiting, and so was McKay, much to his displeasure.

Suppressing the urge to hang his head in shame, he started, "Well Doc, I-"

"You are _such_ an idiot!" Rodney gritted out, coming over to stand next to Keller. John noticed that his hand was no longer attached to his shirt and decided they must have come up with a solvent for that slime.

Jennifer and Sam had only enough time to shoot each other puzzled glances before John continued, "I put myself in that Ancient evolution machine." He arranged his face to give just the right mixture of shame and defiance.

"Why are you leaning on Ronon?" Rodney asked curious.

"I passed out."

Rodney blinked at him. "Oh."

"You didn't?"

"No." Sheppard frowned, why was it that the machine had affected him differently from the scientist?

"Why?" was all Carter could manage, but he knew something much worse would come his way when she was assured that he would live, at least for now. Keller, on the other hand, was all business, as she steered him and Ronon to one of the beds and forced him none too gently to lay down. When John detached from his support beam, said support beam was besieged by a concerned Carter who wanted to know exactly what had happened and why Ronon had allowed it.

Sheppard would have listened more fully to the interrogation if he hadn't been distracted by the medical equipment that began buzzing around his head. After several long scans and at least a half hour, the doctor pronounced that besides a faster than normal heartbeat he was in perfect health.

Of course, this would only temporarily be the case, but it gave everyone the ability to swoop down upon him with questions without feeling guilty. Patiently, John explained his reasoning and how he had made his choice only for the good of the team and how he knew that if he had told anyone that they would have stopped him. He tried to make sure that they understood that without an enhanced human on their side he didn't think they would make it back to Atlantis, let alone even breach the gate. During the interrogation, Rodney was uncharacteristically quiet. As a matter of fact, despite his initial outburst, he hadn't said a word since John had entered the infirmary.

"John, how am I supposed to trust you to lead a team offworld when you make this kind of rash decision?" Carter asked at long last. She was leaning against an adjacent bed. Keller had moved off to deal with a marine with a broken arm and Rodney and Ronon were statues standing at the foot of John's own bed.

"My command abilities haven't been compromised. I still know what is best for my team. This was a personal decision. It affects only me. Only I'm in danger."

"I'm afraid that you have physically compromised yourself. Even if I didn't have questions about your state of mind, which I do, we don't know that you aren't going to pass out in the middle of a fire fight." She was giving him one of her 'I know what's best for you' looks'.

"He won't." Rodney spoke, breaking his silence. "I'm the only one here who knows what he's about to go through and I can tell you that he won't endanger anyone. He's right, being in this condition will only increase our odds at success."

Sam softened at McKay's words. She couldn't argue with the one man who knew exactly the position John had put himself in. "I appreciate your personal experience in relation to this situation, but I don't agree that Colonel Sheppard is in any position to lead a team in a rescue mission right now. Besides there is no way to know how differently the evolution will affect him.

"Fine, then don't let him lead it." John could have kicked him. "But," Rodney extended himself to his full height and perhaps a bit further, "_do not_ leave him behind." On second thought, maybe kicking him wouldn't be necessary.

Tired of everyone talking about him like he wasn't there, Sheppard sat up and said, "Rodney's right, you can't leave me behind. And I'm not going to put anyone in danger."

Maybe Sam believed him, or maybe she was just tired of arguing at the moment, but she backed down. "I can see that we aren't going to reach a consensus tonight and it's late. John I'd like you to stay here tonight for observation. We'll resume this discussion in the morning. Rodney, please keep me updated on the UAV's progress. Good night." Her final sentence was somewhat softer the previous ones and she patted Sheppard's ankle before she turned to leave. Ronon followed her out wishing the other two men a restful sleep as well.

When they were alone, Rodney slumped into a chair by the head of John's bed. "You just had to one up me, didn't you? You know what? Sometimes I really do think that you are suicidal."

Sheppard merely sighed. He'd been through a lot today and he was tired. After being practically electrocuted, poked and prodded, then interrogated for an hour, the last thing he wanted to do was have yet another argument with McKay. He quickly diverted to another topic. "So you got the alien slime off?"

The astrophysicist snorted, "Not exactly." He held up his right index finger where a piece of fabric the same color of his t-shirt was stuck. "Keller cut a hole in my shirt. Then she tried everything from soap and water to alcohol. No luck. One of the nurses wanted to burn it, but no one is getting near me with an open flame until we find out whether or not this stuff is flammable. My whole finger could burst into fire." Sheppard doubted that, but nodded sympathetically nonetheless. It was nice to have Rodney's blustering directed at someone else.

As if he had been reading his thoughts, Rodney said, "I know we haven't exactly seen eye to eye the past week. Not that that is all that unusual, I mean we don't agree on much like that time on Doranda when you said that Project Arcturus would never work. And I just didn't listen to you because I think that I'm always right, probably because I usually am so when I'm not it's kind of a surprise. But you were right and I should have trusted you, but you can be so infuriating when you don't agree with someone. I shouldn't have gone over your head to Carter like that." He ended tangentially.

"No, you shouldn't have." John agreed and as much as he tried not to show it, he was grateful for that pathetic excuse for an apology. After all that was usually as close as Rodney ever got to an 'I'm sorry', so he figured he'd take it.

"And about that little scene in the commissary," for a brief moment the scientist actually looked ashamed at the memory, "I know you aren't jealous of Shep. It just made me angry that you still suspect him."

John flinched slightly recalling how he'd acted toward Rodney that morning, not that he hadn't deserved it, but he could have at least _tried_ to be the bigger man. "Thanks McKay. I'm sorry too." He watched amused as the other man's face screwed up as if he was trying to keep himself from saying that he hadn't actually apologized. "Hey, you aren't just saying all of this because you think I'm going to die, are you?"

"No, of course not. I just wanted to clear the air. You know, before you evolve and can kick my ass. Or decide to haunt me in the afterlife."

"I can already kick your ass, McKay." Sheppard commented, decidedly ignoring the jibe about being in the afterlife.

They sat in silence for a moment. John was relieved that he and Rodney had reached somewhat of an understanding, or at least an agreement to disagree. While they weren't exactly friends, not in the classical sense anyhow, they were on the same team and life was certainly easier when they got along.

"When you start being able to read minds, just try to remember that people can't control what they are thinking." Rodney picked at the scrap of cloth on his finger. "Oh and don't be surprised when you find out every woman on this base thinks Ronon is hot."

Suddenly, John found himself smiling his first real smile in days. "No kidding?" He laughed, not because it was funny, but because it felt good. "I'll keep that in mind."


	18. Tell Me Something Good

**A/N: As promised the next chapter. Chapter 19 will be up tomorrow. Enjoy!**

While Atlantis never ran smoothly, the past week had been particularly rough and Sam Carter found herself wishing she was back on SG-1. Of course, life had never been quiet when she had been a part of that team, but at least then she hadn't been the one in charge. Someone had sure gotten it right when they came up with the phrase 'burden of command'.

She was sitting in her office blearily wondering if she had left last night or not. Glancing down she noticed that she had changed clothes at some point and decided that she must have. After leaving Colonel Sheppard in the infirmary she had discussed the situation on the Daedalus with the science team left in charge of analyzing the breached corridor. They discovered certain familiar patterns on the ship's exterior that correlated with known Wraith vessels, though Carter had a hard time imagining where the Wraith would have gotten the expertise to board the Daedalus in such a manner. And just how would they have known where Caldwell had been on the ship in order to abduct him without anyone noticing? However, the fact that there were other missing crewmen hinted that they had just taken anyone who had seen them onboard. But still how had they known exactly where Caldwell was? And then there was Sheppard's impulsive action last night. As if she didn't have enough to worry about.

Reaching for the cup of coffee that Chuck had thoughtfully fetched, she knocked a stack of documents onto the floor. Her desk was piled higher than she had ever allowed before, it had only gotten worse after the Daedalus had returned and was at least half a foot tall in some areas. When this Shep situation got cleared up, _if_ it ever did, she would have some serious backlog to deal with. She felt marginally better remembering how messy General O'Neill's desk occasionally became. Thinking about her commanding officer she felt another stab of nostalgia. She was halfway across the universe on a little green and blue planet when she realized that she'd broken a train of thought earlier. What had she been thinking about? Oh yes, Sheppard. It was easy to understand why he had done it. After all she might have considered it herself had she been in his position. That didn't mean she could just ignore the dangers of the decision. At least he'd been smart about it and had avoided actually breaking orders so she didn't feel obligated to report it quite yet. She did have the weekly report to Stargate Command due tomorrow and she wondered if she could get away with leaving that little incident out, not likely. Elizabeth Weir had sure had it easier that first year when they'd been out of contact with Earth. Of course, they hadn't been able to go home either.

"It's done." Rodney announced plunking himself down in the chair opposite Sam's desk, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts.

It took her brain a few blank seconds to figure out that he meant the UAV's shields had been finished. He looked as tired as she felt. If she was being run ragged with all that was going on Rodney was as well. He likely hadn't slept at all last night to ensure that the UAV was ready for this morning.

"Having a hard morning?" He asked, glancing at the pile of papers still on her floor.

"Yes." Sam replied repressing the urge to snap at him. She really needed to get some sleep. "I was thinking last night that we should go ahead and send the UAV to the planet. It would certainly increase our intel of what is happening in that godforsaken place."

"I agree. When Sheppard is up and running we aren't really going to need a distraction, he'll be able to handle getting us there without a problem."

"I'm more worried about what happens after you get there." Carter said. "What if you get detained and his condition progresses?" That was certainly a mild way of putting having your brain function increase beyond the limits of human physiology.

"Then he'll die." McKay looked grim. "But if he stays safe here, then he might die anyway and Caldwell and everyone else will still be up shit creek. And, no offense, you probably couldn't keep him here if you wanted to. I mean short of throwing him in the brig which would only work temporarily anyway. Which actually brings me to what I wanted to talk about, I want Shep to come on this mission with us."

She should have seen that one coming.

"Rodney, I-" She stopped herself. There was absolutely no evidence that Shep wasn't trustworthy. Didn't they keep coming back to this same place? Rodney would say that Shep only meant the best, something bad would happen, John would blame Shep, and then the cycle would be repeated. "Sheppard doesn't believe that he is being completely honest with us." That was a poor excuse and McKay knew it.

"Why don't we just wait until Sheppard can read minds?"

"How long was it before you were able to do that?" Sam asked, already knowing the answer. It was too long of a wait. The missing people had been gone for at least three days and she wasn't willing to wait any longer. It was becoming increasingly more likely every hour that there would be no one left to rescue.

"A little over a day and a half." He responded understanding the problem. "What is it that Sheppard has that I don't?"

Carter blinked at him, not understanding how that had anything to do with what they were discussing at the moment.

"Why is it that everyone always believes Sheppard's _feelings_? I can't even get the cook to believe that I'm allergic to citrus."

Probably because John was nice to everybody. But saying that out loud wouldn't make Rodney feel any better. Sam bent to retrieve the papers on the floor so she could have an excuse not to look at the man seated across her desk while she was thinking. "Okay, I'll make you a deal." She said, having gathered up the wayward files. "If we can get a good scope of the land from the UAV and Shep recognizes the compound's layout he can go. If not, he stays here."

"Fine." He wasn't happy, but he wasn't protesting either and that seemed like a plus at the moment.

"Ma'am?" Chuck asked, poking his head into the office. Carter nodded for him to continue. "Dr. Zelenka is here with the UAV."

"He is?" She didn't remember telling him that he should bring it up.

Rodney shrugged. "I thought you would want to send it as soon as possible." He got up and went back into the control room to help Zelenka with the setup.

Carter ordered Sheppard and the rest of his team along with Shep to come up to the control tower. John was the first to arrive. His dark hair was more tousled than normal and there were circles under his eyes, but he was beaming. Not waiting to be asked about how he was doing, he immediately told Sam, "Look at this." He held out his hand which contained a single grape. It started to hover, albeit uncertainly, and flew into his open mouth. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I see you are already feeling the effects of the device."

"Oh yeah," he nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to go kick some Wraith ass. That is if it is the Wraith."

"It seems that way. The science team found evidence that the ship that docked with the Daedalus is of Wraith design." Carter replied, thoroughly amused by Sheppard's childlike glee.

Teyla and Ronon came next and not too long afterwards came Shep with Lorne. The major was taking his assignment seriously Carter noticed pleased. That was good because she was planning on sending Lorne on the rescue mission as the commanding officer. While Colonel Sheppard seemed perfectly normal, she knew how easily judgment became impaired when there external factors involved, like a rapidly evolving brain. Since everyone necessary was present and there was no need for preamble, Sam gave Chuck the go ahead to dial the planet.

She watched with bated breath as the chevrons lit up in sequence, somehow much more slowly than normal, until finally the wormhole stabilized into a vertical blue pool. As she gave Rodney the okay to launch the UAV she silently hoped that it would encounter no resistance after it passed through the gate.

As if.

The moment the miniature plane broke the surface the event horizon on the other end they began receiving a signal. Hopefully, with Rodney and Zelenka's few tweaks to the shields they wouldn't lose the transmission this time around. Not knowing exactly what type of interference it was, they hadn't had much to go on, but Carter figured it was worth a shot.

The area immediately in front of the gate looked the same as it had last week when they'd sent the MALP. A grassy field stretched to meet a blue sky and Sam even caught a view of a clump of trees as the UAV soared over their green tops. The image shifted to show a large building which must have been just out of the MALP's sight range.

Shep was the first to speak. It seemed like everyone else was still holding their breath. "That looks pretty familiar."

So maybe things weren't so different in this reality. Carter took a second to glance at Shep and found that he was nodding to himself as if recalling a memory.

Turning her attention back to the monitor, she noticed that it was now thirty seconds in and they hadn't lost signal. So far, so good. The UAV was now flying over a second building set behind the first one. Sam found it strange that they hadn't seen any Wraith yet, let alone any resistance, but just as the thought occurred the picture veered wildly and went black before coming back. Sure enough there were two Wraith soldiers with weapons directed toward the screen.

"The shields are holding." Zelenka informed the assembled crowd even as another energy beam just barely missed the surveillance device.

"Hey Chuck, steer toward that circular construction." Shep requested, motioning to the screen. "That's where they kept the reserve weapons in my reality." It did actually appear that that was where the Wraith were headed. A few, the couple that weren't already firing on the UAV, entered the small building and emerged with something reminiscent of a bazooka.

Carter looked up to meet Rodney's blue eyes. Yes, Shep was definitely accompanying them on this mission no matter how the Sheppard from this reality felt about it. And then they lost contact with the UAV. Hopefully, John would be able to hold off a bazooka.

XXXX

"Relax Major." Lorne felt Colonel Sheppard's hand grip his shoulder reassuringly. "The only person I trust more than you to fly the Jumpers is me."

Evan watched as his commanding officer folded himself into the copilot's seat. Actually he did feel a marginal amount of tension ease out of his shoulders. Not that there wasn't plenty where that had come from. He didn't particularly like the odds they were about to fly into. He had seen the remains of the Daedalus, after all. The little demonstration that the colonel had given this morning to show that he was ready did help a little though. Carter insisted that John have his metal tested before being sent into battle and he'd come through all right. He'd been attacked by Ronon and a dozen marines armed with Wraith stunners. They hadn't lasted long against the evolving human.

It had come as a shock when Colonel Carter had told him that he would be commanding the rescue mission. He'd asked why Sheppard wasn't in charge and Carter had given him some crap about the Colonel's judgment being impaired. If that was the case he shouldn't be going at all, but Evan had kept that thought to himself. He had a feeling it had more to do with not setting a precedent of rewarding the officers who went rogue and took matters into their own hands instead of obeying orders. Of course, Carter couldn't very well forbid Sheppard from coming, because the mission would be a colossal failure without him. She had been stuck between a rock and a hard place, and Evan figured she'd made the best choice she could.

Lorne checked the back of the Jumper to see that all of its occupants were ready before he powered up. Ronon was seated directly behind him, Teyla on his right. Teyla's face was impassive, the dark, smooth skin of her forehead didn't show an ounce of apprehension. Evan envied her calm. Ronon, on the other hand, looked as if he was itching for a battle. His dreads were tied back in the customary manner. How many blades had he hidden in that tangle of hair today? McKay and Shep were sitting along the benches in the very back. Rodney looked like a bundle of tension, his fingers already stroking his sidearm. Shep looked down right scared.

Lorne mentally powered the Jumper and after getting confirmation from Carter over the radio that the gate was ready and waiting he initiated the procedure to maneuver down into the control room and through the gate into another world. He caught Colonel Carter saying "good luck" just before they entered the event horizon. A team of marines in a second Jumper followed right behind.

Evan activated their cloak as soon as they got through the gate as he was sure McCreary the other Jumper pilot followed suit. Neither Jumper immediately encountered any resistance. Shep had been sure that the super weapon was only affective against combatants in space and would be no threat to a ground assault, but Lorne hadn't been convinced it would hold true in this reality. Thankfully, it did. When they weren't vaporized upon entering the gate, Evan relaxed and he scanned the scene in front of him, grass and sky stretching into infinity. Sheppard, however, wasn't admiring the landscape. His eyes were closed and he was clearly waiting for the ground forces that would undoubtedly begin swarming. As they flew toward the main building they'd seen from the UAV, Evan started to wonder if this might be easier than they'd expected. He realized later what a ridiculous thought that had been.

A fleet of Wraith appeared below them attracted by the activated gate. But even though they couldn't see the Jumpers he could tell they were trying to fire overhead, but no shots were actually fired. Though he'd known that it was going to happen it was still a shock to realize that the colonel really was jamming their weapons. It was too bad they couldn't have an advanced human brain around all the time.

Lorne began to lower the Jumper thinking that he could land behind a clump of trees to what would be east if they'd been on Earth. He was stopped by Sheppard's voice, but it wasn't the colonel speaking.

"You should land by that platform. We'll have better cover." Shep said. He had gotten up to stand between Teyla and Ronon's chairs.

Evan glanced at the colonel for approval before he caught himself. He was in charge this time. He took the alternate's advice and ducking below an overhang of the building touched down on the soft grass, letting McCreary Jumper know where they had landed. They'd completed stage one without even getting shot at. They exited the Jumper and were met by McCreary's team who emerged out of nowhere to stand next to them in the clearing.

"There were two entrances to this building in my reality." Shep informed Lorne. "The other one was in the back and both were well guarded." The man still looked scared and Lorne was struck by how out of place that expression seemed on the familiar, albeit hairier, face.

"Let's split up. Colonel Sheppard you take McKay, Teyla, Wagner, and Stackhouse." Two of the marines moved toward the colonel. Leslie Wagner was nearly six feet tall with long blonde hair twisted into an intricate pattern at the back of her head. The other marine, Jason Stackhouse, was slightly shorter than Leslie. His brown hair was buzzed closed to his head in typical military fashion revealing a tattoo at the base of his skull of a word written in a language other than English. Lorne had never had the courage to ask what it meant. Stackhouse wasn't what you would call personable, but he was certainly useful in a fight, especially in close combat. "You go through the front. We'll go around back looking for any sign of our people. They have to be here somewhere."

"Yes sir." Colonel Sheppard responded without a hint of irony, making Lorne feel guilty.

John led his team around the side of the Jumper with Rodney trailing him. The others filtered behind them, Stackhouse taking up the rear with an air of someone who did this kind of thing every day.

When they were out of sight Lorne addressed his own little assemblage. "I want you all to be alert, there's no telling what kind of advanced weaponry we are going to be up against."

"We're ready." Ronon answered for the group. Shep didn't look quite ready, but somehow Evan knew he was going to be okay. McCrery and Norris, the two remaining marines, looked eager to prove themselves which made Lorne swell slightly as he realized they wanted to impress _him_.

"Okay move out."

Surprisingly, Shep was the first to move as he took a place on Evan's left. He had his nose nearly pressed to the life signs detector and shook his head when Evan cocked an eyebrow, silently asking if there were any enemies nearby.

With Shep leading the way, they quickly found the back entrance. There was a small contingent of Wraith guarding the door that were quickly disposed of, thanks mostly to Ronon's shooting Lorne noticed as he watched the red bolts of light hit each target in turn. He gave the Satedan a quick smile of encouragement before sneaking up the stone stairs that led to the doorway. Sure enough it was locked. Nothing a little C4 couldn't handle of course, but that would attract unwanted attention. Looking around, Lorne's eyes hit upon a door panel. He indicated it to Shep who took the hint and immediately started prying the component from the wall. The scientists worked efficiently, even though his hands were visibly shaking, and soon the doors slid wide to reveal a narrow hallway with corridors to the left and right.

"Any opinions?" Evan asked Shep.

"That way" Shep pointed right, "was where we found the power storage room holding a few ZPMs and the control room for the weapon. The weapon itself should be in the building west of here."

McCreary's green eyes widened at the word 'ZPM'. "We should grab some of those for our trouble, if we are going to pass them anyway."

"In my reality there was a shield around the room. The only reason we were able to destroy the weapon was because Rodney gave his life to bring down that shield." Shep informed them all.

Lorne didn't much like the sound of that. Besides Colonel Carter had told them that they had only one mission on this planet and that was to retrieve Caldwell. "As much as I'd love to bring home a ZPM along with our missing people we need to focus on why we came here in the first place." He scrutinized McCreary as he said this. The Irishman was redheaded and built like a tank with arms the size of small trees. He didn't talk much, but he followed orders well and Lorne liked him all the better for it when he ordered them to turn left.

Evan wondered whether right wouldn't have been a better option, however, when he saw Shep collapse in front of him. Before he had a chance to tap his radio to warn Sheppard, Lorne too lost consciousness.


	19. Simple As That

**A/N: Thanks for the comments! Enjoy!  
**

"McKay could you just open the door already?" Sheppard asked for the millionth time.

"Why don't you do it, Mr. Evolved?" Rodney spat back at him. He didn't even spare a glance from the wires in his hand to see how the colonel had taken that remark.

"Okay, I think I will." Sheppard said, self satisfaction coloring his voice.

The next thing Rodney knew there was a sharp pain in his hand. "Ow!" The doors slid open, leaving him nursing his burnt finger in peace as the rest of the team slid silently into the revealed entrance. He bit back the sarcastic comment on his lips, deciding for once that compromising their position wasn't worth having the last word. The room was cavernous, nearly three stories in height with an ornate pattern lacing the walls. Leslie Wagner was peering intently around the space, intrigued.

Though it was very bright outside, there wasn't much light coming through the doorway and the interior lighting was so minimal that it took a second before Rodney's eyes adjusted to the gloom.

Sheppard and Teyla were conversing quietly when Rodney approached them. He scanned the life signs detector quickly, and noticing the pockets of concentrated glowing dots he whispered, "They're everywhere. But there does appear to be a cluster in that direction isolated from any other group" he motioned vaguely with his still cloth-clad index finger. "They could be our people."

"Or it could be simply a group of Wraith by themselves." Teyla noted, arching one dark eyebrow.

"Or they could be playing the Wraith version of strip poker." Sheppard added with a hint of amusement. "Either way, it's a good place to start." He headed in the direction McKay had indicated. Stackhouse again took the rear and Rodney felt better knowing he was there.

"What do you suppose they've done to them?" Wagner asked

"They've probably been torturing them for our secrets." Though it was dim, McKay could see that the marine was upset by the possibilities. "I'm sure they're fine." He tacked on without feeling that it was true.

They encountered very little resistance as they made their way toward the little group of life signs. Rodney finally figured out why when he noticed John take a small rock from his pocket and maneuver it mentally down a corridor. In the distance there was a tiny 'ping'.

At the astrophysicist's questioning gaze Sheppard explained, "I thought it'd help to throw them off our scent." He patted his pocket where he was undoubtedly keeping more pebbles. Maybe if they ran out of ammo John could mentally hurl the stones at the Wraith at light speed?

When they had made it about halfway to their destination, Rodney scanned the life sign detector again and noticed with a start that there was now a very large clump of dots in the area they were headed. "Take a look at this," he whispered indicating the spot to Sheppard. As he watched some of the dots moved off, but now there were an additional five that had joined the original group.

"You don't think-?" Teyla began, but Sheppard was already trying to reach Lorne by radio.

"Lorne, do you copy? Major?" An ominous silence followed.

"Oh great, now we have to rescue them too." Rodney muttered and though he was trying to sound irritated all he felt was worried.

John increased his pace to a run which left McKay and the others to follow. They made good time getting to what they hoped were their people.

"And what if this is a group of Wraith?" Rodney asked between gasps for air.

Their little group was huddled behind a turn in the corridor, out of sight of the life signs that were glowing just around the bend.

"Because I can hear them talking." Sheppard said matter-of-factly as he stepped around the corner. Oh right, super hearing.

Lorne, Ronon, Shep, and the two marines were slumped against the farthest wall. Hopefully they were just unconscious. A dark haired woman was kneeling next to them. Standing nearby was Colonel Caldwell, a blonde man named Silva, and a gangly redhead Rodney didn't recognize. Between them and the prisoners was a metal lattice reminiscent of chicken wire. Strangely, there was no obvious way in or out of the cage.

"Colonel" Caldwell addressed Sheppard immediately, "it's good to see you."

"Likewise. How are you guys?"

"We're alive." Caldwell responded ambiguously. Despite being incredibly filthy and having a gash on his forehead and a few visible abrasions he didn't seem to be in need of immediate medical attention and neither did any of the other prisoners Rodney noticed with relief. At least they wouldn't have to carry anyone back to the Jumper.

"Is there anyone else?" Sheppard asked next. There weren't enough prisoners to make up for those who were missing from the Daedalus. McKay felt his stomach sink as Caldwell shook his head.

Sheppard set his mouth into a firm line as he absorbed the knowledge that there had been even more casualties than they'd expected. "How's Lorne?"

"He's unconscious Colonel," The dark haired woman responded. "I think they got hit by the Wraith stunners."

John nodded, "How do we get you out of there? Are there controls around here?"

Caldwell shook his head. "A few Wraith have a device on their wrists that seem to allow them to walk through the metal and whatever they are touching can come through too, but otherwise it remains impenetrable."

Instantly McKay found himself wondering at the physics behind such a device. "It must employ some kind of phase shifting mechanism. I wonder how they can extend it to what they are touching."

"Do you think I could do that?" John asked Rodney. The scientist shrugged. He'd never tried it, but it didn't mean it wasn't possible.

"What are you talking about?" Caldwell was thoroughly confused as he watched the colonel extend a hand and attempt to push past the wall separating them. Nothing happened. "What are you doing?" He actually seemed pissed off.

"He thinks he's superman." Rodney answered.

But when that only elicited a dirty look from the balding man, Sheppard added. "I'm evolving. It's a long story."

Teyla came to John's rescue from the glare he was receiving. "You said that only a few of the Wraith carry this device?'

"Yes," Silva told them. "They appear to be the ones in charge. The other Wraith show them a lot of deference." Rodney recalled that he was an anthropologist.

"So we need to go take down a head Wraith? Sounds like fun." Stackhouse was smiling broadly at the thought. It was the first words he'd spoken since they had arrived on the planet.

"Yeah, joy." Rodney replied.

"Maybe some of us should stay here," Teyla suggested. "In case one of them comes back."

"Good idea," John agreed. "How 'bout you, Wagner, and Stackhouse hang out." Stackhouse's face fell slightly, but he didn't protest.

"Come on, McKay. Let's get us a Wraith."

Yay.

"Okay, okay." With the life signs detector in hand, it was easy to locate a lone Wraith nearby. He was walking down the corridor with his back to the two humans. Just as Rodney was wondering how they were going to incapacitate him, the Wraith dropped dead right before his eyes. He stared at Sheppard, certain he'd done it and yet unwilling to believe it.

The military man shrugged. "I pushed his vertebral column into his nerve cord."

Rodney shivered. He'd had that power once and it had never even occurred to him that he had been capable of killing another being so easily. Of course, Sheppard was using his power for good and all, but…

"His wrist is bare." Sheppard was bending over the dead body. "I guess this guy's not a head honcho. Who's next?"

They repeated the process of locating an isolated Wraith, sneaking up, killing him, and inspecting his wrist four more times and they still hadn't found what they were looking for. Soon someone would notice the bodies piling up. Sheppard never made a mistake in the process. Rodney thought ruefully that Carter could have just sent him by himself to get the hostages. He was getting increasingly uncomfortable about John's seemingly god-like power. Now he knew how everyone else had felt about him when he'd been on the fast track to ascension.

"This isn't working. Someone in command isn't going to be wandering around alone. They'll probably be guarded; especially since they likely suspect that we are here." Sheppard had moved back to stand beside the astrophysicist

"So where do you think we should go?" Rodney asked, though he already had a hunch and he didn't like it.

John pointed to a spot on the life signs detector near the center of the building. It was so covered in dots that it was hard to discern one from another.

"You think you can take all of them at once?" It would have been a ridiculous idea at any other time.

"I don't know. Maybe." The colonel's usual jovial air had evaporated.

"What are we waiting for?"

As they navigated through the dim tunnels of the Wraith base Rodney asked a question that had been bothering him for awhile. "What did Shep tell you when you interrogated him after the Jumper accident?"

The man in front of him nearly stopped at his words. "Why do you think he told me something?" He answered evasively, strengthening Rodney's suspicion that something was being kept from him.

"You were more pissed than you should have been when Carter let Shep out of the brig."

"You went over my head McKay. I have a right to be pissed about that." John had actually stopped this time.

"Sure," he managed in an offhand manner. "But what did he say?"

"It was some sob story. Okay? Just drop it."

Now he was getting somewhere. "Like his dog got drained by a Wraith?"

"No, like the alternate you has a kid who's now an orphan and Shep's the only family she's got left."

Somehow Rodney had been expecting something worse. "Why didn't you just tell me?" He paused. "You think I would go back with Shep to his reality to take care of a child that a me from an alternate reality spawned?" He felt his eyebrows creeping up his forehead. But that's exactly what Sheppard had thought, it was written all over his face. In a flash he remembered what John had yelled at him in the commissary, "Get over what McKay, the fact that he nearly blew up?" He hadn't been jealous at all. He'd been concerned that Shep was a danger to him. And not only was he worried that Shep would hurt him, but that Shep would actually take Rodney away from his home, and that he might actually be willingly to go. "I won't go with him you know. I belong here."

Sheppard nodded. He didn't appear convinced, but he did start walking again.

"I won't." Rodney repeated, trying to ignore the fact that he wasn't sold by his own reassurances. So what if he had a child in an alternate reality? That was probably the case in millions of realities, that shouldn't mean he should go visit them all. But before he'd had a time to consider the situation much longer they had reached the clump of Wraith activity.

He pressed himself against the wall near the doorway to the room. It was much like the one located in the front of the building, large and tall. Most of the Wraith were seated in what looked like folding chairs facing a podium. Behind the podium was a large human man with haggard black hair covering most of his face. The seated Wraith were hanging to his every word and every once in awhile a cheer would rise up from the crowd. Who was this guy and why were the Wraith listening to him?

"What's he saying?"

John was clearly eavesdropping intently to the speech though Rodney couldn't hear a word of it. "A bunch of stuff about giving allegiance."

"Why would the Wraith bow to a human?" McKay snuck another quick look at the man behind the podium. He didn't' look very powerful.

"I don't know. But I think it's time that we broke up this little party."

"A diversion?" Rodney suggested trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

But Sheppard was ahead of him, already pulling out a brick of C4. Rodney glanced up at the architecture. It _looked_ like it could take a small explosion or two.

"Can't you just kill one of them from here? There's even a guy with a wrist device near the back."

"How are we going to get the device from here?" Sheppard was attaching the hunk of plastic explosive to the outer wall of the room.

"You can just float it over. You know…" Rodney made a flying motion with his hands.

"Yeah, I bet no one would notice a commander dropping dead and a piece of powerful tech flying through the air."

The scientist shrugged, he hadn't thought of that. As the colonel finished with the C4, the two men moved off far enough to be out of the blast radius. Sheppard pressed the detonate button. Though McKay had his fingers in his ears his head still rang from the loud explosion.

Nearly instantaneously there was a surge of movement and Wraith began to scuttle from the meeting room. A few noticed them still huddled in the corner, but disconcertingly they collapsed before they had a chance to reach for their weapons.

"That is really terrifying." Rodney noted, but Sheppard was busy unhooking a wrist device from the body of a dead Wraith on the floor. Seeing what was happening three aliens stepped forward to seize John. Without thought, Rodney grabbed his gun and started shooting. All three dropped dead and he wasn't sure if he'd actually had anything to do with it or not. He noticed that Sheppard had liberated the device from the Wraith so he made haste running in the opposite direction. Quick boot falls behind him told him that the colonel was following.

Reaching the relative safety of an adjacent corridor they slowed. "That was fun." John noted nonchalantly as if they hadn't just nearly died. Rodney made a noise of disgust which was ignored. "What are the Wraith doing with this type of technology?"

The device was sleek, black, and the complete opposite of anything else that the life draining aliens used. There were two buttons set into a triangular section which narrowed into the thin strap that wrapped around the wrist. Rodney shrugged. There were so many questions that he didn't have answers to, but all he wanted to do right now was get back to Atlantis with the hostages.

They made it back to the cell without running into more hostiles. Most likely they were all trying to figure out what had just happened and why so many of their fellows had mysteriously expired.

Teyla greeted them when they came back into sight. "You found one."

"Stole, might be more accurate." Sheppard grinned at her. He was feeling light-hearted after their victory.

"Colonel, we heard an explosion." Lorne had woken up sometime while they were gone. Despite the fact that his dark hair wasn't quite as flat as normal he looked no worse for wear. But concern creased his young features.

"Don't worry, Major. That was us."

Norris, McCreary, and Ronon were also on their feet. Shep was still on the floor, though Rodney noticed that his eyes were open and he was hanging on to every word said above his head.

"Let's get you guys out of there." Sheppard pushed one of the buttons on the device he had hooked around his left wrist. Stretching that hand forward he pushed against the cage wall, but unlike last time his hand passed through the mesh. "That is so cool." He stepped through completely and ordered everyone to grab a hold of him. It was a bizarre sight with nine people grabbing onto a piece of him, but they were all able to step back through the barrier.

"What's the best way out of here?" The colonel asked when everyone had detached.

Shep answered consulting the life signs detector, "The back door is closest. There's only a scattering of Wraith between us and there."

"Lead the way." John ordered, but then he seemed to remember that he wasn't actually the one in charge. "If that's okay sir?"

"Sure." Both Caldwell and Lorne answered at the same time. Caldwell snapped his head to stare at the major, but wisely didn't comment.

It took the now quite large group only minutes to navigate back into the fresh air. Unfortunately, they didn't even have a moment to let their eyes adjust to the sudden brightness before they were surrounded by nearly forty heavily armed Wraith. Rodney heard someone mutter, "you have got to be kidding me" as he instinctively dropped his gun and raised his arms above his head.


	20. Rapid Eye Movement

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, much appreciated! Enjoy!  
**

"Hey boys, we were just leaving. Would you kindly mind stepping out of the way?" Sheppard felt a familiar smile tighten his face. It was his please-don't-kill-us smile.

A Wraith commander, judging by the wrist device he was wearing, stepped away from his comrades. "Drop your weapons."

Not sure he could get all of the Wraith at once with his new stealth killing technique, John slowly lowered his P90 to lay it on the grass, orienting it so that it pointed toward the Wraith directly in front of him making sure that each person in his group saw him do it. He ordered pointedly, "Lay your weapons down."

He noticed with pride that each person followed his example by pointing their guns outward, except, of course, Rodney who'd already dropped his. But the scientist did tap his gun discreetly with his foot to orient it correctly.

When the guns had been lowered, the Wraith began to move forward to escort them back inside the base, but mentally John had already found the triggers of each weapon. He could feel the difference between the P90s and Ronon's blaster. Waiting until the aliens were within a few feet, he pulled with his mind.

None of the Wraith were seriously injured, but they were startled enough for Sheppard to get the upper hand. He removed the stunner from the grip of the Wraith that had moved towards him, before the Wraith could figure out what had happened and began firing. He was too preoccupied at keeping the hostiles off of his team to effectively use his increased mental powers.

To his left Lorne had also gotten a hold of a stunner and was doing his best to help. Apparently, Ronon had retrieved his own gun as an unmistakable red bolt impacted the outstretched feeding hand headed toward Sheppard's chest. He'd have to thank the runner for that one later. Though each person was fighting back, the overwhelming numbers of the enemy were showing their advantage and John realized they were going to have to surrender soon and he was about to yell this out when suddenly everything stopped.

The Wraith fell to their knees and doubled over so that they were bowing to them, no, not to everyone, but to himself and Shep. What in the world?

"I'm having a serious Return of the Jedi moment here." McKay said in his ear.

"Who do you think is C-3P0, me or Shep?" Sheppard stared at his double who was mirroring his own confusion. He wondered when that would stop being creepy.

Sheppard wanted a couple answers, but he'd have to be careful about what he asked. The Wraith were acting as though he and Shep were some kind of authority and he didn't want to shatter that belief.

"Lorne." The lieutenant approached him. "I think the rest of you, besides Shep, should head back. I want to find out what's going on here." Sheppard said in an undertone, hoisting his please-don't-kill-us smile back on his face. The Wraith were still sprawled on the grass before them. Normally, he would have just ordered Evan to leave, but he'd already stepped on his toes.

"Fine, but I'm staying too." Evan's voice didn't leave room for an argument. "Everyone back to the Jumpers. Except Shep." He added when the mathematician began to move along with the others. If Caldwell had a problem with being ordered around by a lieutenant he didn't complain as he trailed along after most of SGA-1 and the marines.

When they had left, Sheppard addressed the Wraith in front of him. "You know who we are?"

The Wraith sat up, but didn't meet the colonel's eyes. "You are of the multiples."

John exchanged a quizzical look with Lorne. He decided to play along. "That's right. And do you know what will happen if you cross us?"

"You will no longer fulfill our desires."

That sounded like a bad phone service ad catering to lonely singles. "Yeah, and what do you desire now?"

"We crave your forgiveness for keeping your people. We did not know because there was no matching among them." The other Wraith in the circle murmured their agreement.

Shep asked, "Have you recently seen our brethren?"

It was a pretty good question. If they could find out who these multiples were, maybe they could figure out what was going on. And it was reasonable to assume that they were the ones supplying the Wraith with the advanced technology.

"One was here when you came." The alien raised his head to stare at Shep. "How did you not know he was here?"

Oops.

Shep blanched and covered poorly, "I was just testing you."

But that didn't seem to be an acceptable answer, because all of a sudden the Wraith were all back on their feet. It was only John jamming their stunners that kept him, Shep, and Lorne from becoming dinner. Sheppard grabbed his alternate's arm and wrenched him in front of him, giving him a shove toward the Jumpers. Lorne fired at the Wraith as they ran, but John simply resorted to mentally pelted odds and ends in their direction, like tree branches and boulders. Luckily, the Jumpers were not too far away and someone had already taken a pilot's seat so that he could fire the Ancient missiles into the crowd of enemies hot on the heels of the three men. The few people that had been standing outside of the Jumpers disappeared quickly into the interior of the ships and made room for the two military men and Shep to enter. As soon as they were on board, McCreary, who had fired the shots, lifted off and maneuvered back to the gate.

The number of Wraith in the area had increased dramatically so that Sheppard couldn't stop every volley and they were hit by weapon's fire, even with the Jumper cloaked, but the damage wasn't severe. When they'd gotten confirmation the shield was lowered McCreary shot through the gate, whoever was piloting the other ship, probably McKay, not far behind.

Colonel Carter was in the Jumper bay when they landed. As soon as she saw the hostages her whole body decompressed visibly like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She even hugged the shocked Caldwell. Keller and her team were also present and swarmed the rescued people before they could even take in their surroundings. Jennifer attempted to take a look at the cut on Caldwell's forehead, but he shrugged her off, saying that he was fine.

"Is everyone else okay?"

John could feel Sam's gaze on him so he answered for everyone, "Yes, we didn't have major trouble."

Carter raised her eyebrows. "I take it you were able to handle the Wraith then?"

"He more than handled them. You should have seen him!" Lorne was giddy, still high on the adrenaline from their most recent escape. "He was like Superman!"

"Yeah, he's a regular super hero," McKay concurred, but he sounded grim rather than excited about Sheppard's performance in the field. Maybe he was still freaked out about the vertebrae-spinal cord trick.

"What exactly is going on?" Colonel Caldwell finally asked looking between John and Sam.

Shamefaced, Sheppard told him. The commander shook his head in disbelief when he told him that he'd activated the evolution accelerometer without permission, but all he said when Sheppard got through with the tale was, "I guess we're lucky you took the initiative Colonel." 'Yes or you would still be on that planet', John thought to himself.

Relating everything that happened on the mission and hearing the story of the hostages (who had been questioned for information as predicted), took the rest of the day. By the time they had finished mulling over each answerable question like: who were the multiples and why were they sharing technology with the Wraith, it was long past dinner time. (Caldwell had long since left having not eaten much the past few days and still needing medical attention.)

Rodney's stomach was growling audibly and Sheppard was surprised his wasn't as well so it was a relief when Carter finally told them to have a good night. They hadn't agreed on further action yet so they would have to have another long meeting tomorrow morning, but at the moment John didn't care.

"Do you think that there's still ravioli left?" McKay asked him as they made their way toward the commissary. Ronon, Teyla, and to John's annoyance, Shep, were also present.

He didn't answer. He was feeling weak and somehow he didn't think it had to do with lack of food or his long day, which could only mean that the physical consequences of his condition were beginning to manifest themselves and he was that much closer to actually having to acknowledge that the price for his cool new super powers might be his life.

"Sheppard?"

"Leave me alone Rodney." He could almost taste the concern pouring off of Teyla in reaction to those words. "Sorry, I'm just tired." He just wanted to be left alone. But it wasn't his nature to snap like that and everyone surrounding him knew it.

"Maybe you should go see Dr. Keller." Teyla suggested gently.

John was about to protest when suddenly his vision shifted so he was peering down a long dark tunnel. He could feel himself sway slightly and was beginning to think that the infirmary wasn't such a bad idea, when his vision returned to normal. "Sure, if I don't feel better after eating." He didn't really intend on going, there wasn't anything Keller could do for him anyway. Everyone stopped staring at him like he was going to pass out though so the lie was worth it.

Eating did make him feel a lot better. There was still ravioli left and some garlic bread and he even got a kick out of watching a bewildered Cho see her cup float away from her across the table.

Sheppard was rolling a meatball around on Rodney's plate which the scientist kept trying in vain to catch. Eventually Rodney exclaimed, "Was I this annoying when I was evolving?"

"Yes" was the unanimous answer.

John noticed the astrophysicist's finger. "Hey, what happened to the fabric?"

McKay gave him a same kind of blank look a cow in the middle of the road gives an irate driver until he realized what he meant. "Oh, it fell off sometime when you were getting the wrist device off of that Wraith. Maybe that goo stuff only works for a limited time."

Did that mean the hole in the Daedalus would reopen? Sheppard shrugged internally. Repair crews had likely already removed that entire piece of bulkhead anyway to analyze every inch of the alien slime to see if they could reproduce it.

"Dr. Keller to Colonel Sheppard."

Shit.

"Sheppard here."

"I'd like to see you in the infirmary at your earliest convenience. And please bring Dr. McKay." John glanced at a bewildered McKay who simply nodded.

He glanced down at his plate, it was mostly empty, so he responded, "We'll be right there doc." And with the feeling of trepidation, he left the room with Rodney following in his wake.

Not surprisingly Colonel Carter was waiting with Dr. Keller when they entered the infirmary. Both wore identical expressions of optimism which loosened the ball of dread in Sheppard's stomach.

"We have been discussing your condition and we think that it would be best to return you to your previous genetic makeup as soon as possible." Jennifer started. "Which is why we requested that Rodney come along as well."

"You want me to reprogram the device to Sheppard's original genes so we can reverse the evolution." The scientist nodded as though he'd been expecting that. John should have seen that coming too since that was how Carson had saved Rodney's life last year. Then McKay said something involving Carter's ass that would have made Ronon blush.

"Rodney! That was rude. Even for you." John turned to the shorter man who was looking at him with the same stunned expression as Sam and Jennifer.

"I didn't say anything!" Rodney's posture relaxed as the light bulb above his head went on. "Well I guess you can finally read minds."

"Cool." He took a moment to read the two women's minds, or really he just listened to them, because he wasn't exerting any effort to be able to 'hear' them. Keller was wondering about how the human mind could evolve to be able to read the brain patterns of other's. Colonel Carter was trying to figure out what Rodney had been thinking that he had found so rude. She was just beginning to think that it may have been related to her when Sheppard cut her off mid-thought, "Let's go take a look at that device now. I mean if you don't mind, Rodney?"

He said it a bit more forcefully than necessary hoping that Rodney would get the hint that he should get out of Carter's sight right now. The woman was beginning to scrutinize him with the look of someone who wasn't going to back down.

"Yeah, that's fine. I don't really like to sleep anyway." He said it grudgingly, but John knew that he really was itching to take a look at it again. "I just need to input your genetic code and then we can see if it'll reverse the process."

"What do you mean 'see'. It didn't have any trouble for you."

"I just meant, you know, see if you didn't break it when you messed around with it." Rodney responded over his shoulder as he followed Keller to her office as she retrieved John's genetic sequence from the Atlantis computer.

"It should work. There's really no reason it wouldn't… but I was the first one that it was reprogrammed for and the machine wasn't meant to be used like that, plus it was _my_ genetic code which is superior to pretty much everyone else's…"

As McKay's monologue continued, John realized he was hearing directly out of the scientist's brain and he tried to stop listening before he got some kind of spasm from having to hear how much Rodney loved himself.

Unfortunately, the string of nonsense continued and it wasn't just McKay who was babbling on and on. Keller and Carter's own internal conversations were also grating on his brain's metaphorical ears. It didn't help that people didn't think in a straight line, his mind was staggering through a maze of disjointed sentences and unconnected thoughts. "Could you all just stop thinking!"

Carter's eyebrows shot so far up her forehead for a second he thought they had a life of their own, Keller stopped typing on the keyboard, and McKay just smirked at him.

"Tired of picking our brains already?"

"Yeah. Who eats chicken with jam, anyway?" John had a whiff of this thought before he'd been distracted by Rodney's inane blathering and he wasn't sure which woman it had originated from.

Keller blushed, answering his question. "I haven't eaten that since I was a kid. Was I really just thinking about that?"

"It's your brain doctor."

She shrugged, still slightly pink, "I guess I'm hungry."

At John's surprise Rodney smiled sympathetically at her. "I know how you feel, babe." His lips hadn't moved so that must have been a thought, but John had heard it clearly as if Rodney was using a lot of effort to keep from saying it out loud.

"Here's the sequence." Jennifer handed Rodney a flash drive with a finality that said she was ready for them all to get out of her office.

"Let's go check out that device Rodney. As much as I love being a super hero, I've had enough of being Captain America for right now."

Carter turned to join them on the way out the door, but John stopped her, explaining gently, "I'm having some trouble tuning you all out. The fewer people I'm around right now, the better."

"Sure John," she placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Keep me updated."

"I'll check in every couple hours, doc." He told Keller just as she opened her mouth to request that exact thing.


	21. Man to Man

Rodney inserted the flash drive into the computer that he had swiped from his lab on the way to the evolution-accelerometer. It took only a few minutes to upload Sheppard's genetic code into the Ancient device and a few more keystrokes to set it as default. The machine accepted the code which surprised him slightly. Maybe this would work after all and they could all stop worrying about Sheppard's super powers, send Shep home, and go back to their normally abnormal lives.

"This better work. I don't think I can stand you being more amazing than you already are. I think it's gone to your head. Your usual heroic stunts seem to be multiplying." Rodney was pulling up holographic images over the console of the ancient device. He was running an internal dialogue, and since John was listening he wasn't bothering to speak out loud.

"It'll work – what do you mean 'crap'? What's wrong?"

"You did break it!" This sentence was verbal. "It's not accepting your sequence. I knew I should have tried this earlier. I would have had more time to fix it when it inevitably didn't work."

"Just relax. You can fix it"

"Of course I can. I just need to-" Rodney finished the thought in his head.

"You know the worst part of reading other people's minds?"

"Hearing how much everyone hates you? Oh wait, that's just me."

"Still having to hear your technobabble even when you've stopped talking. How did you manage to turn this off?" He sank onto the ground leaning on a wall opposite the device.

McKay smirked remembering how he had figured out that if he imagined people were crickets suddenly all the voices started sounding like chirps and then eventually faded into the background.

"Crickets?" There was humor in John's voice.

"Works wonders."

The military man was quiet as Rodney worked as he attempted to pretend that Rodney was a cricket. This thought path usually just led to him imagining he was stepping on a cricket with McKay's head though and wasn't very useful. Eventually he decided that McKay must have forgotten about his presence because his thoughts wandered onto a more intimate subject. If John had been less nosy he may not have asked his next question.

"How long have you been in love with Dr. Keller?"

Rodney spluttered. Avoiding the question he said. "Well that was apropos of nothing."

"How long?" John wasn't going to give this up, not when he may very well die sometime in the next few days. Besides, he wanted to how he hadn't noticed it before. Rodney wasn't a very subtle person and usually when he liked someone, everyone knew it. The fact that he hadn't been hitting on the doctor all day and night suggested that what the scientist was feeling was stronger than simple lust.

"I'm not _in love_ with her."

"Your thoughts say differently."

"Stay out of my head."

"I was trying." That was true, he just hadn't been trying very hard.

"I'm not in love." McKay repeated, as if saying it again would make it true. "I just have a crush. She's a remarkable woman."

"No denying that." Sheppard placated. "You should go for it. She actually seems to like you."

"Really?"

"Sure. And when she laughs at your jokes I'm pretty sure it's because she thinks they are funny and not because she's laughing at you."

"I need to run a diagnostic."

"Before you talk to Keller?" He knew that Rodney was a geek, but a diagnostic - really?

"On the _machine_. I'm not going to know what's completely wrong with it until tomorrow. And I need some sleep."

"Yeah, let's call it a night." John jumped to his feet from his place on the floor. "And I really do think you should give it a chance with Jennifer. She'd be good for you. She's kind, intelligent… and modest. You can balance each other out."

"Haha." McKay mock laughed. He pressed a couple buttons on the device until it made a whirring noise.

"When's it gonna be done?" John nodded towards the machine not trying to hide the fact that he was anxious to know. Honestly, he was too tired at the moment.

"Nine hours. Give or take. You didn't read that out of my head?"

Sheppard attempted to look sheepish. "I did. Thought it would be more polite to ask. Maybe give you an example of how well mannered human beings act."

Rodney pulled a face. "You are just full of useful advice tonight." He paused and then added, "I'll let you know what I find as soon as possible. Are you headed back to the infirmary?"

"Yeah." He grinned morosely. "My two hours are up."

"Well, goodnight."

"Sleep tight, McKay."

XXXX

His bed had gotten more comfortable while he was away. Snuggling his face closer to the pillow, Rodney felt sleep sneaking up on him. Its enticing tendrils were just enclosing him into a warm cocoon when a sharp noise viciously pulled him back to reality.

"This better be good." He growled into his radio.

"Have you seen Colonel Sheppard recently?" Keller asked. The concern in her voice slowly made in impression on Rodney's fogged mind.

"Not since he left to go see you." He pushed himself into a sitting position with one hand. "You mean he never made it to the infirmary?"

"Yes, and no one seems to know where he is."

"And he's not answering his radio? No, don't answer that, obviously not or you wouldn't be talking to me. I'll go find him." He cut the transmission and pulled back on his pants that were lying at the foot of his bed. Why couldn't someone else on base go look for him?

The first place he thought to look was the pathway between the mess hall and the infirmary, but wouldn't someone already have checked that? Sheppard must be somewhere else. The gym? Even John wasn't enough of a masochist to work out after such a long day. The observation deck near the control room? There was no way someone wouldn't already have spotted him. He imagined the dark haired man leaning against the railing, passing out, and then falling over into the icy ocean far below. McKay instantly quashed the mental image.

The colonel's quarters were close so he went there first. He knocked then picked the lock when there was no response. It didn't look like the man had been there in awhile. For some reason Rodney then thought of the ancient evolution accelerometer.

The transporter, associated corridors, and the room housing the device were also all annoyingly devoid of the colonel. He stood in the isolated room trying to think of where he would go, had gone, when he'd been in Sheppard's position. Mostly he had spent his time in the lab writing as much of his new knowledge down as possible. But John wasn't a scientist, he was a soldier. Then it hit him.

Sheppard was hunched over a deconstructed P90, fiddling with its firing mechanism when Rodney walked into the armory. "Everyone is looking for you."

"Yeah, but I just had this idea of how to increase gun accuracy and I had to come see if I could put it into practice before I- before I forget."

McKay had the sick feeling that he'd been about to say "before I die". He nodded his head in understanding, he'd been there before.

"Trust me it's not worth it. Soon you'll have so many ideas in your head, really world-changing ideas, so many you won't be able to write one down before the next one comes and then you'll start that one and then something even better will occur to you and you'll try to get that one down. And then when you're back to normal none of it will make any sense and you'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what was so important in the first place. I've been there. It's not a fun place to be."

"I've been ignoring all the math theorems that keeping popping into my head so far." John smiled one of his natural John smiles which somehow made Rodney feel better.

"Just don't tell Shep. He might be offended that you are depriving the scientific community of your genius. Why didn't you go see the doctor?"

"There's nothing Keller can do. I didn't feel like being the elephant in the zoo right now."

McKay tried to quell the animosity he felt knowing he could be asleep right now if Sheppard had just let himself be examined. "I was able to bring myself back with Carson's help. Jennifer can help you too."

John looked up at him and quipped, "I'm not as smart as you are."

"Obviously, but who is?"

"Thanks McKay." Sheppard stood up from where he was seated on the bench and clapped Rodney on the shoulder.

"For what?"

"For being insufferable."

"Any day. Now let's go to see the doctor." Rodney felt oddly like a parent with an unruly child as he led Sheppard out the door and down the hall.

When they reached the infirmary, Dr. Keller ran towards them and began scolding Sheppard for avoiding her. She wasted no time and shone a penlight in the man's eyes, making him draw back. "Geez doc, calm down. I'm fine."

"Let me be the judge of that, please." Though Jennifer was only five-foot-six and maybe 120 pounds, she seemed to be occupying a lot more space as she examined Sheppard. Rodney waited until she had finished before asking how he was.

"His cerebral activity is already at 55% above normal. From reading Carson's notes when you were in this position, I think that it will not be long before he starts to experience headaches and occasional loss of consciousness."

"Followed by spasms and eventual death. Yeah I know. What's plan B?" He sounded like his usual cheery self, but Rodney could tell that he wasn't as at ease as he seemed.

Keller answered him, "Colonel, I believe that you should begin meditating in an attempt to reach ascension. Since we do not know if the ancient device can be fixed, I think that ascending is your best chance at living through this."

"Ascending isn't exactly living." Sheppard said wryly.

"Neither is dying Colonel." She shot back, causing Rodney to laugh.

"Well, I did spend six months with a bunch of wannabe ascendees. I must have picked up something useful in that time. Besides, even _Rodney_ had been near ascension when he'd reached 96% synaptic activity." Sheppard paused to glare at the aforementioned scientist who was thinking how unlikely it was that Sheppard would be able to ascend. "Stop that! I'll probably have an easier time releasing my burden than you did McKay."

"Hey I didn't say anything!"

"Right." Rodney glared back at him. "I'm trying to tune you guys out, but I'm not having a lot of luck."

Rodney didn't even bother to speak, but just thought at him, 'It gets easier over time.'

"If you guys don't mind I'd like to be alone right now."

"Sure I have a date with my bed anyway. Goodnight!" As Rodney headed for the door he heard the colonel attempting to sweet talk his way into sleeping in his own bed that night. He wished the man luck, Jennifer seemed all soft and squishy on the outside, but when it came to her patient's wellbeing Rodney knew she could be as unyielding as steel.

XXXX

John didn't sleep that night. Despite what he had told the doctor about sleeping in his own bed he simply didn't feel like being watched anymore. The past two days had been full of discreet concerned glances and less discreet observations as if everyone on base was waiting for him to pass out face first into his oatmeal. And while he appreciated that his friends were worried, he had more serious problems than drowning in his breakfast.

He took McKay's advice to heart and didn't resume tinkering with the military equipment. Any more advances in military technology were going to have to come from a less evolved brain than his. Instead he focused on trying to ascend. It sounded so ridiculous at first he laughed at himself. He was the _last_ person who should be trying to reach a higher plane of existence. If only it was physical rather than metaphorical he could just fly up a Jumper and say hello to the Ancients on their higher "plane".

Yet here he was sitting cross-legged on the floor of his room imaging he was on a Ferris wheel. It was too bad the last time he'd been on that particular fair ride the well endowed Margie Hooper had been sitting across from him and his mind kept replaying the few exciting moments he'd shared with her at the top of the ride. She had shoulder length blonde curls that shone in the multicolored fair lights, casting playful shadows across her petite nose and softly curving lips. The baby blue sweater she'd been wearing was just tight enough to hint at the sumptuous curves encased in its caressing grip.

Sheppard's eyes snapped open. This was never going to work. What were the wannabe ascendees always saying? Release your burden. He closed his eyes again, feeling around for all the grief, sadness, and morally questionable ethics he could find, packaging them all into a box, tied a balloon to it and imagined it floating up into the air.

"Burden consider yourself released."

Now he knew he was crazy.

Perhaps a walk would make him feel better. Slipping on the boots he'd discarded a few hours earlier he left his room, allowing his feet to decide his path for him. Not surprisingly he ended up in front of the commissary. Having a super evolving brain required a lot of calories. The mess wasn't as deserted as he would have expected for the time approaching four in the morning but, Atlantis was never completely asleep. John nodded to a couple scientists and some newly arrived marines before snagging a couple of energy packed snack bars and making a beeline towards the door. Even with so few people around, the noise level from thoughts alone was unbearable. He was too tired to attempt tuning them out and breathed a sigh of relief as he retreated into the relative quiet of the corridor.

Tearing open the snack bar he tried to decide which direction to head. The control room was his first thought, but as such a vital part of Atlantis it was bound to be crowded with quick, loud thinking scientists even at this hour. Spinning on his heel, another thought occurred to him. As he'd made his way from his own quarters to the mess, the corridors hadn't been as quiet as they should have been. Blaming his over taxed brain and lack of sleep on not paying attention to that fact earlier, he headed back towards his own room. When he passed the first occupied room he stopped and cocked an ear towards the door. No sound was passing through the metal, but all the same he could "hear" a woman's voice. It wasn't clear enough for him to pick up any words, but he got the impression that she was frightened. John fought the urge to pound on the door and demand what was going on. Clearly everything he was hearing was mental and since there was only one voice, the woman was alone. Could it be he was eavesdropping on a nightmare? He didn't remember Rodney ever mentioning being able to hear the thoughts of people who were asleep. Maybe he had never had the time to notice or he hadn't thought it was important. Sheppard moved to the next door.

"Come on Dylan, it's time to go home."

"Aw dad, it ain't even lunch time yet. Can I go down the slide one more time? Pleeease?"

_Two voices?_ Straining to catch more, he caught yet another voice, a woman.

"Dylan, do as your father says."

"Yes ma'am."

John stared at the door, perplexed. How could there be three voices? And one was definitely a child. There were no children on Atlantis. He stood back, orienting himself, and realized he was in front of Bob Master's door. He knew the man had a son and a wife back in Georgia, he must be dreaming about his family. The thought made John smile. Bob's brain must be imitating the voices of his family in the dream, making it appear as if there were three people in the room.

Sheppard moved on down the hall, trying not to listen any further into the dreams of the sleeping. But there was one person whose thoughts he was very interested in. The door to the guest quarters on base looked just like all the others, but the man sleeping behind it might just give John the answers to his questions. He concentrated; willing himself to hear the thoughts within his double's sleeping brain. There was only silence.

Perhaps the man was not dreaming. Hadn't he heard somewhere that there were times during sleep when the brain produced no discernible thoughts?

He waited.

Silence.

John imagined his mind reaching into the dark room, hovering over his own form, snatching the thoughts that were flowing on little bubbles out of his double's ears. Not surprisingly this technique did not yield any better results.

_I can wait for morning_. _He can't be in any hurry to harm Atlantis or he would have done it already_. _Another few hours won't make a difference._ He consoled himself by imaging the look of shock on Rodney's smug face when he finally had proof that Shep was not the kind, bearded, geek he had everyone else believe.


End file.
